What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Luke 11:11
How are you at gift giving? Now, I didn’t say, “How are you at spending adequate—perhaps even excessive—amounts of money on gifts?” Early on, my late wife taught me a great deal about the art form of giving cool gifts.
My first lesson started with our first Christmas as husband and wife. We were visiting my parents on Christmas morning, and I had saved her “big gift” for this occasion. I wanted my family to be impressed with my suave and lavish gift-giving skill.
It was a big box. In fact, I had wrapped it all by myself. (What a guy.) And now Bobbie was carefully undoing the tape so she could use the paper again. “Tear into it,” I announced, not being able to delay the glory I would experience, basking in the glow of my wife’s delight. But when Bobbie saw what she had just unwrapped, her eyes began to well up with tears.
“What?” I whispered.
“A hair dryer?” she whimpered. “What?” I repeated, thinking she may have not heard me the first time.
Since that moment, I have learned two important things. First, a gift to a woman that has a power cord is not a gift. I repeat, if it must be plugged in to work, it will not count. Second, for a gift to be recognized as a gift that accomplishes an “I love you so much,” you must carefully study the recipient’s personality and actual heartfelt desires. This takes time.
Did Bobbie need a new hair dryer? Yes, and this was the deluxe six-thousand-volt model that likely could have dried off my car as well. But this gift didn’t show that I understood and knew her. She was a flowers-and-antique-dolls-and-tender-things kind of woman. I had missed this. A hair dryer was the absolute worst kind of gift I could have given her. It was practical. My only salvation was that we had only been married for a few months. Fortunately, this excuse worked this time—this time only.
Today’s text speaks exactly to this issue. Jesus said that because God is our loving Father, He knows precisely who we are and what we need. So He’s a superior gift giver. His blessings are always “wow-you-shouldn’t-have” perfect. “If you knew your son wanted a fish for his birthday,” Jesus challenged His followers, “would you make the mistake of giving him a snake instead?”
If you’re married, how well do you know your wife? And how about your children? When it’s Christmas or birthdays or anniversaries or Valentine’s Day—please don’t overlook Valentine’s Day—do you dash out and grab the first thing you see?
Be a great gift giver. Keep your ears and eyes open year-round. When your wife makes a comment about someone’s “beautiful scarf,” take note of the colors and style and write it down. When you see your son staring at his friend’s new baseball glove, make a note of it. When your daughter sighs at the sight of something special, punch it into the “notes” app on your smartphone.
“Oh, Dad, how did you know?” will happen when you do these things. You’ll win the gift giver of the year award every time. Best of all, you’ll experience the truth of “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Ac 20:35).
Ignore this lesson at your own peril. Please trust me on this one.