Every year, as they were growing up, my children would give me something just from them for Christmas or my birthday. These gifts ranged from socks to ties to little things to put on my desk in my office or even a tool they wanted to learn how to use. Each of them were uniquely special gifts, but each of those gifts had something in common.

When I opened these gifts in front of them, my children smiled with anticipation as they eagerly awaited my reaction. To them it was the perfect gift. To them it was something special and reminded them of me and hopefully would remind me of them. I actually still have most of the things they’ve given me through the years.

But each of those gifts were purchased the same way. Until my children were old enough to have a job and earn their own money, those gifts were purchased with my money! I know that some of these gifts were my children’s idea, but many of them were actually something my wife told them I would like. She took them to the store. She told them that daddy would like this item. She put our bank card in the card reader. She purchased them with money that we made from our jobs.

My kids then took those gifts and gave them to me as if they bought them! The audacity. The guts. How could they possibly claim that these gifts are from them when it’s obvious they didn’t buy them or even really pick them out?

Ok so I’m not really upset about this. Just using it as an illustration. It’s kind of like C.S. Lewis in his work Mere Christianity where he describes our lives in Christ. We approach God often times giving him a gift of some sort and claiming it’s from us. I mean we do this with our time and talents and even our finances. We come into worship or volunteerism and think in our minds that somehow we’re giving him something great. We put our offering in the basket thing on a Sunday and act as if we just did God a favor.

It’s like my kids giving me a gift that was purchased with my own money! Everything we have in life is a gift from God. Our time is already His. Our possessions wouldn’t be in our possession if He didn’t give them to us in some fashion. Our abilities that we use to serve others aren’t really ours. He gave us those abilities when He knit us together in our mother’s womb.

You see I love each and every one of those gifts from my kids. Not because they bought it with their own money because they didn’t. I love those gifts because of the excitement I saw in their eyes when they gave. I love those gifts because they represent my children’s love for me. The same is true with our lives given back to God. The amount isn’t the point. The style or type of gift isn’t the point. It’s the joy in our hearts and the excitement over the giving that’s the meaningful part of giving.

So give the gifts. Do it with joy. Don’t hold back. Even if you’re giving with someone else’s money. It’s more about the heart and why you’re giving than how much you give (and this isn’t just about material things either, it’s also about your time and energy and even how you invest in relationships).