A Most Memorable Birthday Present

When I was a young boy, I found out that my father had a brother named John.  My father described him as a “hobo”.  When he was 16 years old, he had been involved in a farming accident that cost his best friend his legs.  He climbed into a bottle to ease his emotional pain and never came out of it.  He was an interesting character.  He spent time in a Santa Fe, NM prison for cattle rustling.  I don’t know of any of my friends who had a cattle rustler for an uncle.  I also grew up looking for John riding on the bottom of a freight train car.  Whenever we saw a freight train, my dad would say, “Anyone see Johnny?”  It was rare that John would come around for a visit.  My dad was afraid of the influence he might have on me.  When he did, he was always very dirty and didn’t smell very good.  He was always drunk and sat around singing sad songs.

The last time I saw Uncle John was in August 1967.  My father’s sister had died from cancer, and the family gathered for her funeral. My father and his other brother went to see the attorney for the reading of the will, leaving Johnny and me at home.  We had a great conversation about his recent misadventures.  I told him that it was my 12^th birthday with a smile.  I didn’t expect anything from him.  Even though I was 12, as I looked at his face and saw sadness, I realized that his sadness was over the fact he had nothing to give me for my birthday.  A couple of minutes later, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of Doublemint gum.  He handed it to me and wished me a happy birthday.  Even at the age of 12, I recognized that Johnny was giving me the only thing he had.  For the past 57 years I have thought about that gift, and it makes me smile.  It is perhaps the only birthday gift I actually remember.

As I was preparing for this week’s message I reflected on that special birthday, and it dawned on me that perhaps that is how our moment of redemption plays out for God.  Perhaps he sees us dirty, not smelling very good, with more problems than anyone could fix on their own.  As a young man, not yet a Christian, I often wondered why God, if He existed, would have any interest in me. If He could see all the bad things I had done, would he see any redeeming value in me?  A quick self-evaluation would almost always lead me to realize I didn’t have anything of value to offer him.  I could feel a draw towards Him, but I didn’t want to come empty handed.  Eventually, I reached into my pocket and found a pack of gum.  That gum was my life.  It wasn’t very pretty; it was probably pretty stale and dried out.  It had been in my pocket so long, it had lost its flavor.  Nevertheless, I offered it to God, and He accepted it with a smile.

In Luke, Jesus spoke of the parable of the lost coin.  It ends with this statement: “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10).  I came to understand that the lousy pack of gum called “my life” was received with great rejoicing.  Our lives are the only fitting gift for the God of the universe.  It is a most memorable gift.

Blessings,

Pastor Doug