Which Would You Choose???

If you were presented with the above two gift options this holiday season.....which would you choose? Would you choose the beautifully wrapped gift OR the rugged brown paper bag? If we are perfectly honest, most of us would choose the beautifully wrapped gift. And why not? A neat and tidy package says alot about the gift it must contain: the "giver" obviously took alot of time wrapping the gift, so we might assume the "giver" also took alot of time to choose the perfect (possibly valuable) gift. In contrast, the "giver" of the wrinkled paper sack seems to have thrown the gift together at the last minute.....not much thought appears to have gone into the contents. Hmmmm. Pretty easy choice, huh?

But let's say before having you choose, I present you with the following:



I open the brown paper sack to let you view its contents.....a shiny diamond ring!

Then, I open the beautifully wrapped box and let you see its contents.....a one dollar bill.


NOW, which would you choose???

Interesting, huh?

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This is the most perfect picture I can use to demonstrate our gifts.....Hope and Charlie. They have Down Syndrome, so their "package" isn't so lovely. They come with heart defects, vision issues, hearing problems, and thyroid conditions. They are slow to speak, slow to walk, and can be quite clumsy from time to time. They are short in stature, their eyes slant upward, and their ears are a bit small. As a result, people miss the contents!
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Hidden inside the crumpled up, imperfect package, however, is a priceless gift......one who will never look for the bad in others, one who will trust unconditionally, one who won't be caught judging others based on skin color or social status, one who will never care to have the latest gadget, one who strives to acheive inspite of limitations, and one who loves completely with all he/she has to give.
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The "GIVER" of the old wrinkled sack is God, because every single gift comes from Him. Maybe He is teaching us something through the gift called Down Syndrome. Probably something much deeper than: "Never judge a book by the cover". Would you agree He might want us to learn that worth should never be placed on something because of an outer appearance or even an IQ test, because God, the ultimate "Giver", judges the heart above everything else. What if they are here to remind us what is truly important in life?
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As for me, through our little "gifts", I've learned to appreciate (and even choose) the paper sack!
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"And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness---secret riches" (Isaiah 45)