“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
— James 1:17, KJV
Gifts and Glitches. That’s what I think of when I remember Billy Clutz and the birthday toy that wouldn’t start. His family missed one simple step in the instructions. It makes me wonder how often I overlook God’s guidance on how to use the good gifts he gives me.
Little Billy Clutz was so excited. His birthday brought more gifts than he could have ever requested. One caught his imagination more than any other. He had seen it advertised everywhere. It was a brand-new, shiny red “thingamawidget.” It could do just about everything, and with it, he would be an A-1 invincible kid.
He tore open the package and inserted the batteries and … nothing happened.
Dad, Grandpa, Aunt Myrtle the engineer, and several cousins read and reread the instructions, fiddled, cogitated, and scratched their heads all afternoon. Frustration simmered. The congregated Clutzes were unanimous in their disdain for this toy.
“Whoever designed such a ridiculous piece of junk?”
“I did.” It was Cousin Henry, who had just walked in. “My company made these based on my design. Here … did you turn this switch, as it says in step one of the instructions?”
BAM! The thingamawidget was now widgeting around the red-faced members of the Clutz family.
We are beset with two extremes. One is to take God’s gifts for granted and forget the grace with which they are bestowed. The other is equally insidious. We can overlook God’s instructions on how those gifts are to be received and used.
For those who have grown dependent upon computers, glitches are never welcome. We store our notes, our records, and our very memories on magnetic disks, counting on systems and machines to perform predictably whenever we need to retrieve our priceless information or do some task that we no longer know how to do any other way. There is no human power or technology that is infallible. God is unchanging, and we can count on God.
Trust God.
God is our most cherished treasure.
God is the giver who designs the perfect gifts for us and can instruct us best on their use.
Thought Questions
- What good gift have you received lately that you’ve hardly stopped to notice? What would it look like to receive it with gratitude today?
- Billy’s family spent the afternoon poring over the instructions and still missed step one. Is there a simple step you’ve been overlooking in how you use one of your gifts?
- When something you count on lets you down, how does James’s picture of the unchanging “Father of lights” speak to you?
- Who could benefit from a gift God has given you? What’s one way you could share it this week?
