The Gift of Understanding

SOMETIMES, when we love someone, we feel we just can't give them enough. We may even do without thing we need ourselves. I think most parents feel that way about their children. Love makes us generous.

But generosity is more than giving.

If anyone could have showered gifts on those he loved, it was Jesus Christ, But he didn't. He provided for their basic needs; he saw to it that they had shelter and enough to eat. He watched them counting coins when he could have filled their laps with riches.

Jesus gave something more precious and more lasting than gifts. He gave understanding. He knew how hard it is to live in this world. He felt what others felt and couldn't put into words. And out of his understanding he gave what people truly need, such as forgiveness for Zacchaeus's guilt, hope for the cynical woman at the well, recovery for a dying child.

The next time you want to give a gift to someone you love, don't worry about how much you can afford to spend or how big the present ought to be. Consider, instead, what generosity really means: understanding. That's something each of us can afford to give - all the time.

Phyllis Hobe