A few weeks ago, my friend Jason Clement was watching TV late at night when he randomly checked his email on his iPhone. Seeing iTunes had sent him a receipt for resent purchases that he couldn’t quite recall buying, he skimmed the message.
“$45?” he said, looking bewildered, as it wasn’t just the price tag that shocked him, but the context. “In-app purchase of Dino-what?”
Like any good dad, he touched base with his high schooler, Autumn. Knowing she wasn’t the dinosaur-gaming-addict the bill claimed she was, it soon became clear what had happened.
That week Autumn had babysat The Hopper Kids. And I’ll freely admit, even Judah, at just 2.5 years old, can work his way around an iPhone and iPad with shocking dexterity. Maybe without thinking, or maybe without knowing, Autumn’s iPhone was commandeered.
My three eldest then went on a dino-shopping spree that, taking into account a few million years of inflation and ancient currency forms, was tantamount to what the White House threw away to Solyndra.
Yesterday morning when Jason stopped by to pick me up at the house, in view of all the children, Jennifer handed him $45 cash. He waved it off, reminding us that it was a good lesson for Autumn. But still Jennifer insisted. When he declined it a second time, a little voice piped up below them.
“I’ll have it,” Luik said, hand innocently outstretched.
The story still makes me laugh. But Luik’s willingness to effortlessly take ownership of the cash – a sum he doesn’t have any true sense of value for, accept in maybe how many rounds it can buy him at the candy claw game at CiCi’s – reminded me of another story. One where a Manhattan pastor bet a visiting friend that it would take over an hour to give away a $100-bill for free on a midtown street corner. The friend argued it’d be gone in mere minutes.
In the end, it took over 2 hours to give away.
And the wealthier accepter of the bill? An 8-year old girl who simply asked the pastor, “Excuse me, mister, but is that $100 really free?”
“It really is,” he smiled.
“Thanks!” and with that she walked away smiling.
Jesus wasn’t being figurative when He said we needed faith like a child. He meant every word. Somehow we adults have a hard time receiving; I know I do. Having a strong work ethic, an appreciation for time, and a value of the intangible qualities of life will stoke that fire.
But so will pride.
While there’s always the playground hotshot to be seen, I’ve found that most children are not yet victims of the one thing that keeps most adults from receiving from God. Pride.
May I challenge your attitude toward receiving from the Lord today?
If its being offered, I want it. God, if you’re making it available, I’ll have it.
Receiving is an art birthed in children, lost on adults, and forced on the elderly. Yet the Giver continues to make His gifts available to us all.
Receive. It helps life move forward. ch:
