A Minister tells the following story:
Over a recent
Thanksgiving holiday I did my version of Black Friday shopping. I slept in, had breakfast, took a shower, and
then met up with my wife and son who had left the house before 6:30 a.m. I was rested, fresh, and full of energy. After facing the frantic shoppers all morning
they . . . well, they didn’t look so good.
At one point
of the mall madness I was leaving Sears and saw it. Right there in front of me. A Sears Wish
Book. I hadn’t seen one in years and
it brought back some memories.
The first
Sears Wish Book was printed in
1933. (I don’t remember that. I looked
it up.) Over time it has diminished in
size and was even discontinued at one point.
It was revived in 2007, but the one I saw was nothing in size compared
to the books I remember from my youth.
Children today don’t really need one.
They have the Internet and their high tech toys to cruise the
information highway to identify their holiday “wants.” But “back in the day” the Sears Wish Book helped us answer the seasonal
question: “If you could have anything for Christmas, what would you ask
for?”
Every year my
brother and I would look through the catalogue and either dog-ear a page or circle
our choices in pen. We didn’t want Santa
to miss our requests.
You may not
need the Sears Wish Book today, but
you have some wishes too, don’t you?
Next Christmas how would you answer the question, “If you could have one
thing in the world, what would it be?”
Solomon had to
answer that one. He asked for
wisdom. And God gave it to him. But by the end of his life he had accumulated
more and more: more gold, more horses, more wives. He had it all and wanted more. In the midst of all these gifts he lost sight
of the Giver. He turned away from God
and lost it all.
Another King
gave us another path to follow. He had
it all and gave it all . . . for us. In
the Christmas season, or any season for that matter, you can guard yourself
from the tyranny of too much stuff by giving.
Simply give so that others can simply live. That’s what the King born as a baby in the
manger did.
And my wish?
That you visit the manger and find Him.
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