There is a beautiful Christmas story you may not know. It’s my very favorite Christmas book of all time — The Littlest Angel. (I’m giving away two copies of the book. Read on to find out how to win!) Every time I read it, I cry. It reminds me of how we all really feel inside, clumsy, awkward, and unworthy when compared to Christ.
The Littlest Angel takes place in heaven on the day Christ will be born on earth. All of the angels are scurrying to choose the most extravagant and extraordinary gifts to celebrate the birth of God’s son. The littlest angel is worried. All he has is a box he brought from Earth and the items he treasured inside…
A butterfly with golden wings, captured one bright summer day on the hills above Jerusalem, and a sky-blue egg from a bird’s nest in the olive tree that stood to shade his mother’s kitchen door. Yes, and two white stones, found on a muddy river bank, where he and his friends had played like small brown beavers, and, at the bottom of the box, a limp, tooth-marked leather strap, once worn as a collar by his mongrel dog, who had died as he had lived, in absolute and infinite devotion.
Before I tell you about the rest of the story, let me ask you, what do your children treasure? As you’ll see as I continue with the Littlest Angel, God knows what our children treasure, and what is important to our children, is important to God.
After the other angels have presented their grand gifts, the littlest angel shyly steps forward to give his. All eyes are on the box and what’s inside. Finally, God says…
This small box pleases Me most. Its contents are of the Earth and of men, and My Son is born to be King of both. These are the things My Son, too, will know and love and cherish and then, regretful, will leave behind Him.
So what if we had to present a gift to Christ… wouldn’t you feel like the littlest angel? But God holds up that childlike gift with such esteem. These are things we all treasure. Simple things. What is important to us is important to God.
If you’d like a copy of The Littlest Angel, I’m giving away two. Just leave a comment below tell me what you’re treasuring this morning. We’ll do a random drawing to choose a winner.
Merry Christmas!
