Choose the Giver over the Gifts

Choose the Giver over the Gifts

At one time my favourite car was the Alpha Romeo.

The little Italian sporty job… with the alloys… The designers came up with this nifty trick of concealing the rear door handles in the black trim… hmmm nice!

As the family grew, I started to dream about the nine-seater VW Caravelle for class, comfort and the all-important luggage space… hmmm nice!

Oh boy, they make some great stuff don’t they!  iPads, iPhones, Macbook laptops… We all like good stuff! Visible, tangible, accessible stuff — and, well, some of it is just very nice.

In the beginning, God created the whole universe, he made our planet and everything on it. He looked at it and he saw that it was good! And oh so beautiful.

But of course that’s where the challenge kicks in… we read on… and there’s Adam and Eve, eyeing up the one fruit in the whole garden that God told them not to eat…  it was pleasing to the eye… hmm so desirable…  and at this point, they did something stupid. They put created stuff before the Creator… They put the gifts before the Giver.

This is the challenge we all face, to enjoy the stuff, without allowing it to steal our hearts… to give God the first place in our lives…  And that’s what Lent is about. We take on disciplines to remind ourselves that the Creator, the giver, is to come before all that beautiful stuff. And you know what… ultimately, we are a whole lot happier when we get this right. He is worth it!