The Littlest Angel

Last week I was happily reading a very abbreviated version of “The Littlest Angel” by Charles Tazwell to Aubri and Owen when a very adult truth from the pages of this child’s story grabbed my heart.

This tale is of an angel who is exactly four years, six months, five days, seven hours and forty-two minutes of age and who is not quite as ‘angelic’ as all the other angels in heaven.  His halo won’t stay on, he can’t sit still, he’s always late and what’s even worse is he doesn’t really look like an angel.  You ever feel like that?  You know, nothing about you is quite right?  You don’t exactly fit anywhere?

The heart of the story is that God’s son is to be born on earth and all the angels are preparing gifts for Him.  That is, all but the littlest angel.  He can’t think of anything to give.  He wanted to compose a beautiful song and sing it to Jesus.  He dreamed of writing a prayer that people would remember forever.  However, he usually sang off-key and had no skill at writing prayers.  Suddenly he thought of the perfect gift.

Earlier the “Understanding Angel” had allowed the box of treasures from under the Littlest Angel’s bed at home to be brought to him and now he wanted to give it to the Christ Child.  He placed the box before the Throne of God and was immediately ashamed of his gift and wished he could get it back.  It was a plain and ugly box surrounded by beautiful, wonderful ones. What had made him think this was an appropriate gift?  Why had he thought this idea such a good one?

Let me ask you again: have you ever felt like that?  Have you ever had an idea that seemed wonderful until you tried to execute it?  Have you ever considered something a treasure only to take a second look and realize it was plain and ugly?  Have you ever laid something before God’s throne and then been embarrassed at your gift?  Have you had a similar experience to the Littlest Angel?

It can be a mistake if we do nothing while waiting to write a beautiful song or prayer.  It we only want to do something we would consider great and worthy, we are probably letting lots of gifts pass us by.  Christmas is called the ‘season of giving’ and it’s a wonderful time to give our treasures away. They may not look like much, or be costly or seem important to anyone but us but it’s amazing what God will do with them.  What a privilege to lay our treasure box at The Throne for the Christ Child.

What treasure do you have in a box under you bed that needs to be taken out and shared?  What will happen when you become brave enough to share your gift…your treasure?  What happened to the plain, ugly box of the Littlest Angel? Well, you’ll have to read the book and find out for yourself and when you do, remember your gift is God’s treasure as well as yours!

Merry Christmas.  May you enjoy the receiving and the giving in a more personal way than ever this year.  And, Merry Christmas, Handsome.  Your gifts were given away well while you had the opportunity.  We’ll miss celebrating with you this Christmas.

“Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’

  Matthew 25:40