The Perfect Sacrifice

I saw the heart of God through my two youngest children today. Joseph Michael decided he was going to make breakfast this morning. Benjamin wanted in on the action, so he joined the effort. I stopped what I was doing when I saw Benjamin place a dented tray on the counter, and J. Michael pouring a glass of milk. I did not understand the purpose for the tray so I asked “What are you guys doing?” “We are making you a special breakfast.” This was quite a surprise for me, because I, up to this point, had never seen my 7 and 9 year old ever give a gift like this to anyone! J. Michael, unknowingly, picked out rye bread, and when it popped up from the toaster, he just knew something was wrong with this bread (after his taste test). What did he do then? What any inexperienced cook of 9 years would do, he washed it off with water (to get the smell out). All this to say, their breakfast to me was a glass of milk. I ended up cooking the eggs.

This effort of giving to me, though imperfect, brought a joy to my heart. I smiled as I drank my glass of milk and realized that giving the boys a few more years, the effort will take on a more 'perfect' form, but this meal (though it flopped) still is received by me, as a perfect sacrifice, because of the heart behind it. If they had never offered it, they would have missed out in several ways. First, gaining experience (like bread and water do not mix.) And more important, the joy that comes from giving.

Do I hold back in offering up gifts to the Lord, because the outside form seems imperfect. Does fear of making mistakes, hold me back, when reaching out to others? Perfection (maturity) in Christ is our goal, but part of working towards this is having the courage of hold up our glass of milk saying “I offer this to You Lord, teach me to serve you more fully, and until then Lord, would you mind making the eggs?”