The Biggest Gift

t was the biggest package under the tree. It was wrapped in shiny red paper. There was no gift tag on it to say who it was to or who it was from. Nobody knew where it came from or what it was. It was a mystery to us all.

Mom said that since there was no tag on it, it must be for everyone. But, who was going to open it if it was for all of us? We didn't want to fight for the right to open it. But, we were all excited about the package. Who sent it? What was it?

Dad looked at the seven of us. He was obviously trying to decide who would get to open it. It would have to be his decision. Boy, would I hate to have been in his shoes.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I ran to open it. It was the pastor from the local church. I led him into the living room where everybody was waiting to see who Dad would pick to open the package. He smiled at everybody and told us all good morning. He noticed the package and told us about how everyone in town had received a similar package. Nobody had opened the packages yet because they couldn't figure out how these big boxes got under their trees. All of them had been wrapped in shiny red paper. Obviously, these packages all came from the same person or people. The pastor told Mom and Dad that there was going to be a meeting at the church later that day to figure out what to do about these packages. Everyone was scared.

That settled that. No one was going to open the package at least until after the meeting that evening. All of us kids were disappointed, but we had to accept Dad's decision.

Around five o'clock, all of us got our jackets and boots on to go to the meeting. Dad picked up the package and we headed out the door. We walked the three blocks to the church. We were so excited that we couldn't concentrate on the beauty of the snowy streets. As we walked, we notice about fifty other families headed for the church with big, red boxes.

Once inside the church, we were hit by the loudness of the fathers all asking where the packages came from, the mothers worrying about "strangers" getting into their houses, and children wanting to open the beatifully wrapped gifts. Below the altar of the church, there were at least one hundred identical packages. The pastor was standing at the pulpit, saying that we should just burn them all unopened because we didn't know if the contents of the boxes would be dangerous or not. Of course, all of us children didn't want to do that. We wanted to open the boxes and see what was in them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a movement over by the boxes. I turned to face the pile fully. To my surprise, my little brother, Calvin, was pulling the paper off one of the boxes. Nobody else noticed. They were all so busy arguing about what to do about the gifts, they weren't paying attention to anything else. Calvin pulled one long strip of the paper off. I could see the box under the paper. It was a white cardboard box. I was getting more and more anxious to see what was inside. Calvin pulled another strip of paper off, then another, then another, until the box was completely unwrapped. I looked around to see if any of the adults had noticed yet. None had. Calvin opened the box and looked inside. I was itching to go see what was in the box. But, I knew that if I got up, Mom would notice and Calvin would get in trouble.

Calvin pulled a piece of paper out of the box and looked at it. He couldn't read yet, so he brought it to me. I read the note. I was filled with a great feeling of love. I stood up. Mom told me to sit down, but I ignored her and walked up to the pulpit. Everybody got quiet as they noticed me walking to the pulpit. Then, someone noticed the opened present. A low murmer went through the crowd as all the adults realized that one of the packages had been opened. The pastor stepped back to allow me to speak.

"This note was in the box," I said to the crowd. "I want to read it to you all." Everyone quieted so that they could hear my tremulous voice. This is what the note said:

"Dearest Family,

Although this box seems empty, it is filled with my love.
You see, I loved you all so much that I sent my son to you as
a gift. I know that most of you will be afraid to open these
gifts. But, I want you to look at them with the eyes of a
child. If you accept my gift with the heart of a child, you
will receive many more gifts that show my love throughout your
lifetimes. The greatest gift that I give is my love. That is
what is in this box. The other gifts will just show you how
much I love you. All I ask in exchange for this love is your
love. Remember this day.

Your Loving Father"

I looked up to see everybody wiping the tears away from their eyes. My heart swelled with love. "You see? Even though you were afraid, the gift was still given to us all. God knows that we sometimes fear His gifts. He will give us all these gifts. All we have to do is accept them."