Drop Your Toys

My wife worked at an orphanage for abandoned babies in Kenya. I would often stop by to see the children, ranging a few months to a few years old. I grew fond of one of the older boys, Ben. He had a unique fascination with cars and, every once in a while, I would let him sit it the driver seat of my car and he’d pretend to drive.

One day, as I came through the front door, Ben looked up at me from the other side of the room. As soon as he saw me, there was pure delight on his face. He dropped all the toys in his hands and ran straight towards me. I opened my arms, gave him a big bear hug, and lifted him up. The staff stood watching, frozen with awe at his profound display of affection.

In that moment, Ben told me far more than he could have verbalized. He said that I was more valuable than anything else in the room. He did not invite me to come over and play with him, nor did he hold onto his toys while coming over to me. He dropped the toys to the ground and ran to me, revealing that his delight in me was more than his toys.

Are we that way with God? Or, are we too distracted with our toys? Do we really see God as more valuable than anything else? Or, do other delights bring us more satisfaction?

We all have something in our hands. The problem is when we hold too tightly, unwilling to let go and enjoy our Father before us. We hold to the gifts instead of the Giver. As children, our posture should be open handed, not grasping. All we have to do is drop our toys and come to him.

The gospel is good news because it offers us the Giver himself with arms wide open. And, through the Spirit in us, we have the power to release our small delights and run to our true joy and treasure.