https://youtu.be/hs0RIQEEg0k
The video above and the story it relates is an excellent expression of what the heart of giving is about. Store employees saw the young man coming in day after day to play on a Wii game system display, and decided to make it possible for the young man to own his own and take it home with him. He would no longer have to go to the store to enjoy the Wii game system and his favorite game – he would have it to enjoy when he wanted. He wouldn’t be playing on a display someone else owned, he would have one that belonged to him. Kudos to the people who saw the opportunity to bless the young man.
As you watch the video you can see where the young man at first isn’t sure what to make of the situation. The employee is explaining to him that the Wii is his, and even shows him the receipt. It takes the young man a few moments before he comes to realize that the new Wii is his to have and enjoy. The store employees involved did a wonderful thing by giving the young man the gift, but what wasn’t reported in many of the national outlets was the lengths they took afterwards.
The young man had expressed his concern of walking through his neighborhood with his new gift. One of the employees offered to drive him home and did. He delivered him to his house and watched him to his front door. They made sure he got home with his gift so that he could enjoy it as they had intended.
It’s a really heartwarming story. As I learned about it I was struck by the parallel of what was done for this young man and what was done for us that is represented by the Christmas season.
The Gift Giver
Christmas involves a person who looked at you and me and saw that we were sitting and playing at a display. We didn’t have rights or ownership of it. We could only try it out until the time limit ran out or we messed up and ran out of lives. We weren’t able to personally enjoy what the item was – we could only partake of it in a very limited measure.
A relationship with God had been limited in the same way. There were shades of how it might be, but nothing really of the take it home and keep it variety. So the person decided to make it possible for you and I to have a relationship with God of our own, one we could take home and enjoy when we wanted to. The purchase price would have to be paid, but he would take care of that and provide us with proof of purchase should we ever need it.
God is that person. He looked at you and I like those Best Buy employees did that young man. He wanted to give us the real thing that we could take home and enjoy. He presented the gift of a relationship with Him to us and gave us His Son as proof of purchase. Then He came alongside us in life to help us get home with our gift to that we could enjoy all it has to offer.
Use the Gift, Don’t Let It Sit There
I’m sure that once that young man got home he unpacked his new Wii, hooked it up to his TV, and played on it as much as he could. He made good use of what he was given. Are you making good use of the gift that God has provided for you? The young man got a Wii. You were given the ability to have relationship with God. Have you gotten it out and hooked it up, or have you left it sitting in the corner in a box?
Some people react as the young man first did. They’re not sure what to make out of the news that there’s a gift for them. They even hear about the receipt and still are hesitant. Yet if they will take the gift to themselves and make it their own, they will be able to enjoy life in a way they couldn’t before. This isn’t a striped tie, a pair of socks or an Epilady – this is an amazing gift that millions of people stand by and value greatly.
The gift is yours to take home. Learn all you can about its features. Use it and enjoy it. You may not get a copy of Super Smash Brothers, but you can rest assured that everything that comes with this gift will give you years of fulfillment. This Christmas when you see a nativity or hear “Away in a Manger”, remember that God gave Jesus and the gift of a relationship with Him, purchased and receipted, complete with a service plan. Don’t leave it under the tree. Enjoy it and thank Him for the great price He paid to give it to you. Then share that gift with someone else, with a heart of giving like those employees at Best Buy. Your giving heart can make a difference in someone’s life this Christmas season.
