A cold winter's night and the children are finally asleep. Scurrying, their parents uncover the Christmas tree from its hiding place and begin the decorating. When the tree is festooned with lights and glass balls, the gifts are wrapped with colored paper and pretty bows. These are placed under the tree in anticipation of morning delight on the children's faces.
Imagine, if you will, the excitement of the parents as each carefully chosen gift was wrapped and a name attached to each package. Will Billy like the fire truck? I can just see Sally playing house with her new doll.
Before we were created, God created the world. He decorated the sky with the joyous lights of the sun, moon and stars. The oceans were given a sound that would caress away our anxiety, and the land was festooned with greenery beyond compare.
Hidden under creation were wonderful gifts all waiting to be opened and enjoyed. Some gifts were practical - for instance fire and the wheel; some were fanciful - music and paint. But, I am sure that God created each gift greatly anticipating the moment when that designated recipient would opened the package.
Some received many gifts (Leonardo, Einstein and Edison) and they shared their gifts with the rest of the world. Others received only one gift. Some gifts were lost - the ancient battery found in Iraq - so God carefully rewrapped the gift and gave it to another, while others survived from the beginning.
Unfortunately, some gifts are not used as intended, and just as Billy's parents would be horrified to see him throw his new fire truck at his sister in anger, God is, at times, horrified at the way we use some of his gifts.
There are still gifts waiting to be opened. Each one is beautifully wrapped with a future name on the name tag. But, the best gift is what we learn about our Creator every time we unwrap a new Present.
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