Gift Exchange With Jesus

Gift Exchange with Jesus

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.

Matthew 7:1

It was the day after Christmas in a small Oklahoma town. The holiday festivities were over. Cars loaded with visiting families and presents were leaving town, headed back to the big cities. The snow that had fallen on Christmas Eve was melting and slushy. People were beginning to take down their outdoor decorations, and discarded plastic-wrapped Christmas trees dotted the front yards along Main Street.

Mayor Berkley decided to go for an afternoon stroll through town, just to see what was going on and to keep his finger on the pulse of the community. As he walked through the city park, he suddenly noticed that the plastic doll representing the baby Jesus was missing from among the figures in the city’s nativity scene. He searched around the nativity, but he found nothing.

Mayor Berkley started across the park back toward his office to call the local sheriff so he could investigate the incident. Then he saw little Jeremy Thompson riding his bike on the sidewalk in the park. In the basket on his bike lay the Jesus doll, wrapped carefully in a warm blanket.

Smiling, Mayor Berkley said, “Hey, Jeremy, where did you get your passenger, my little friend?”

The little boy did not hesitate and replied honestly, “I got him from the nativity in the park.”

“And why did you take him, Jeremy?” asked the mayor.

The boy said, “Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus, and I told him if he would bring me a bike for Christmas, I would give him a ride around the park on it.”

Dear Lord, please help me to remember that things are not always as they first appear. Let me not be quick to judge but careful to give people the benefit of the doubt. I want to show your grace and mercy to those I meet. Amen.