I grew up in a small town in Ohio. There was a man in town that everyone seemed to know. Bob was uneducated and couldn't talk plain. It seemed that because he was good natured and not very smart that every one teased him. I guess he was an easy mark.

One day when I was sitting on the porch he came walking by. I was about 12 years old and thought it would make me feel grown up to tease him like some adults did in the town.

He asked how I was doing.

I told him that my father had lost his job, and that we were short of money. I could see my friends laughing in the background so I poured it on pretty thick. I had him fooled so completely that every time he asked me a question, I would make the situation seem worse and worse.

I knew he scratched out a meager living doing odd jobs, so it seemed funny when he asked me if we needed anything. I told him that we didn't know if we would have enough to eat. He replied, "You poor thing. I will pray for you."

That night I heard the door rattle softly. I thought it was the wind whipping against the door so I didn't pay much attention to it. Later when I opened the door to go outside, I found a box of groceries. I knew who had given the foodstuff. I looked through the small box of canned food with tears in my eyes. I felt ashamed, and wanted to return the groceries.

My father would not let me take the box back. He said it would hurt Bob's feelings. Each day when we would have dinner my father would ask, "What side dish are we having from the gift box today?"

It was hard for me to eat the food. I knew Bob had given sacrificially. I did not deserve the gift, but he gave the best he had.

It reminds me of the gift that God gave, long ago, when He gave us His Son. It was a gift we did not deserve, but He gave us His best.