Simple Gifts

In a tender speech to the elders at Ephesus, the apostle Paul poured out his heart and encouraged those to whom he spoke to be charitable. He proclaimed in Acts 20:
32 So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
33 I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel.
34 Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.
35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " 

As recipients of God's grace, we recognize that He is enough and that He is our provider - we are to not desire what others have, but to be dedicated to work that provides not only for our own needs, but for the needs of others.  The Christian faith has a strong element of giving, predicated on our God, who gave His Son, who gave His life, so that we might have life, and has provided us an abundant life so that we can develop an attitude of being content in His provision and willing to share.

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Jesus invites us to come before Him in humility - like children, we can surrender to His abundant love. Matthew 19 states:
13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.
14 But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
15 And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

Ira Miller is a 104-year-old man who lives in West Virginia.  He cross another milestone back in January when he celebrated his birthday.  But, there's another milestone that he has reached - he has packed 1000 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, the initiative of Samaritan's Purse in which shoeboxes full of small gifts are sent to needy children all over the world.

That's according to CBN.com, which reported recently:

For years Miller has devoted his time to packing Christmas boxes for children through Operation Christmas Child. He started packing the shoeboxes at his small church in West Virginia. The congregation usually assembled 35 boxes a year, but in 2016, Miller packed 21 by himself.

Then in 2017, Miller was gearing up to celebrate his 100th birthday and the idea arose for him to pack 100 boxes in honor of his centennial.

His daughter, Debbie Welch assisted him in reaching that mark. Ira says, “I hope [the children] are blessed and realize that God looks after them and that there’s still hope for them..." He is also quoted as saying, "The Lord has blessed me and I still want to do something for the children who don't know the Lord," adding, "I return all my thanks to Him." His grandchildren and great-grandchildren are also part of what has become a family tradition.

And, as CBN relates: "On his 100th birthday, Miller and his family decided to keep track of how many shoeboxes he packed. By the time he turned 104-years-old on Jan. 27, he had reached 1,000 boxes, The Garrett County Republican reports."  And, that's just since he turned a hundred, according to an Instagram post included with the CBN story.

And, the total numbers are in for this past year's Operation Christmas Child effort - 9.1 million shoeboxes were collected in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, according to another CBN.com story.  7.8 million of those were collected in the U.S.  Franklin Graham heads the ministry, and is quoted in the article as saying: "This has been a difficult year for many children around the world...More than ever, they need to be reminded that God loves them and He hasn't forgotten them. I thank God for the incredible team of volunteers who serve year-round to share the hope of the Gospel with children—one shoebox at a time."

More than 570,000 volunteers were reportedly involved in the effort, including 270,000 in the U.S. There were over 4000 collection sites across America, and the story notes, "The new concept of a touch-free, curbside drop-off system for people donating shoebox gifts was introduced which allowed donors to safely contribute to the cause."

Operation Christmas Child has been so effective for a number of reasons.  For one thing, it's simple. Participants pack a shoebox full of toys, school supplies, and other items.  We humans have a tendency to complicate things; Franklin Graham and his team have made things simple. 

Operation Christmas Child also helps to foster cooperation - families can get together and acquire the gifts and assemble the boxes.  Churches organize around the effort and become partners in an effective missions effort.  It's a ministry to children, which appeals to people of all ages who get involved.

It also gives a person an opportunity to play his or her part in the Great Commission.  These boxes get the attention of kids, and when the point is made that this shoebox gift represents the greatest gift that has been made available to anyone - the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ - it resonates with the children.  

We can ask ourselves: where are we serving?  How are we spreading God's love?  Here is one avenue to allow God to manifest His love through someone.