It
was my last year of
teaching. Just a few days
before Christmas break, one
of my students, who we will
call Sarah, came into my
classroom early.
After a few minutes of
friendly chit-chat, I asked,
“So why are you here so
early?”
Sarah smiled. “It’s because
I have a present for you,
and I don’t want anyone else
to see it. It is only for
you and you alone.” She
handed me a package then,
but when I started to open
it, she shook her head. “No.
I want you to open it after
everyone has gone home this
afternoon!”
I
smiled and assured her I
would wait.
The other students began
filing into the classroom
then, and our school day
began. I saw Sarah looking
at me often throughout the
day. As a matter of fact, it
seemed like she couldn’t
stop looking at me. I could
see an internal struggle in
her. She wanted to tell me
what was in the package, but
she also wanted me to find
out by opening it. Either
way, she couldn’t wait for
the school day to be over.
When the last bell finally
rang, Sarah impatiently
stood on one foot and then
the other as her classmates
slowly filed out of the
classroom. Finally she was
alone with me, and I could
tell by her smile that she
might explode if I didn’t
open her gift right then! I
reached for the package and
peeled off the paper. My
mouth fell open then. It was
a drawing that she had made
herself, with the word
“Merci” – Thank you in
French – right across the
center of the picture…
“I
hope you’ll hang it up in
your home!” she exclaimed.
I
was so touched. Sarah could
have simply said “thanks for
being my teacher”, and I
would have appreciated her
comment. Instead, she spent
a lot of time on a drawing
that she then framed and
gave to me. Her gift truly
expressed her gratitude, and
it is one that I will never
forget. I still have that
framed drawing in my home,
and every time I see it, I
am reminded that my teaching
career made a difference for
someone.
If
Sarah went to all this
trouble to thank me for
being her teacher, how
should we express our
gratitude for Someone who
did something far greater?
Someone like Jesus?
Remember, He did way more
than any of us ever could.
He willingly left Heaven to
come to this earth as a tiny
baby, knowing full well
before He ever left that He
would end up on a cross. Yet
He came so willingly! Do we
ever take the time to
express our gratitude to
Him? I’m not talking about a
simple, “thanks” here. I’m
talking about a “thank you”
such as the one given to me
by Sarah!
But wait, we can’t just draw
a picture and give it to
Jesus. What can we do to
truly show Him our
appreciation for His
ultimate gift?
Remember how Sarah was so
impatient for me to receive
her gift? One of the best
ways to show our
appreciation to someone for
doing something special for
us is to accept that gift.
And this is the one way we
can truly express to Jesus
how grateful we are to Him
for Salvation: We can accept
His gift. We can accept His
salvation. We can allow Him
to become the Master of our
lives. We can spend time
with Him every day. We can
rejoice that we have our
Savior ever by our side. We
can read His love letters
and believe His Truths. We
can claim His promises. When
we do, we are truly
expressing our gratitude in
a “Sarah” kind of way.
Aren’t you happy to have our
Savior by your side?
Remember: "For God so loved
the world that He gave His
one and only Son, that
whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have
eternal life.” (John 3:16
NIV)
As
Christmas approaches, why
not let Jesus know how much
you appreciate His gift?
In
His love,
Rob Chaffart