I read this article and found it to be interesting, to say the least. The headline read, “Children’s gifts that will last”. Anything that will last captures my attention. So I read on. The writer pointed out that when you buy a gift for your children one of the main considerations should be, how long the child will use the gift? So the author developed a list of lasting children’s gifts. Number one on the list was an earth friendly truck. This is a truck made from green products. The article suggests that toys made from recycled products can instill values in your children. Really? Every time I made toys for my kids out of trash they said, “This is garbage!”
According to the article, another gift for kids that will last is a fake pet. For reasons that only kids will fully understand, fake hamsters are way better than real ones. These pets make sounds and roll around but they don’t make a mess. But what about the joy of losing a rat-like animal in your house and never finding it? I know this isn’t a gift that will last but these are priceless teaching moments. Your children may ask, “Mommy, where’s my hamster?” To which you reply, “He’s living free now, uncaged, unfettered, like all of us should live”. What a teachable moment.
Is there any gift that you can give your children that will last? Not really. The new wears off quick in our culture.
But there is one gift that will last and it doesn’t cost you anything. Make sure you tell your kids the real meaning of Christmas. Make sure you take time to explain to them that “God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”.
That’s a gift that is good today and forever.

Pastor Tim