The Perfect Tree

Read on December 15

Story provided by Rita

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” —1 John 4:11

Every Christmas, Rita and her two sisters would search for the perfect Christmas tree on their farm because there wasn’t money to buy one of the fancy trees from the store. Searching for their tree became an annual adventure. 

They tromped around the farm, looking at all the cedars, hoping to find the perfect tree. Several trees were found each year and then rejected for one reason or another. In the end, usually after searching the farm for an hour or more, they would discover the most perfect tree, agreed upon by all.

Rita was a grown woman when she learned that her dad had chosen a tree every winter that would be the next Christmas tree for his family. He spent all year grooming the tree, knowing that he would later guide his children around the farm until they discovered it. 

When Rita thinks about tromping around the farm with her dad to find that tree he had perfected for a year, she realizes those thoughts are among her favorite Christmas memories. Those trees were a symbol of her father’s love.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave us his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The perfect Father’s love gave the world a perfect gift. Great dads love to provide for their children.

As we ponder the gifts we want to give this year, none matter as much as the “yearlong” love behind each one. Our kids will probably remember very few of the gifts they received in their lifetime, but they will remember the gifts of time we gave them all year long.

Those are the perfect gifts we can give. 

The best way to love others is to love God and obey his directions. 

That is the most perfect gift all of us can give, at Christmas and all during the year.