White elephants invaded our house last night. Crunching over our hardwood floors, clomping on the tile in the den, munching at all the great food on the table, rumbling forth a perpetual noise, creating such a din that it was difficult at best to hear one another speak Christmas greetings. Little ones frolicking about in their own world of fantasy and fun, older ones observing the commotion with a sly grin and a secret – or not so secret – wish to join them in their unrestricted glee. Laughter and groans merged into one grand gesture of joy as friends and family celebrated together with unbridled – well, perhaps slightly bridled – mirth.
Such was the white elephant party at our house last night. Lots of fun exchanging goofy gifts and sharing the sustenance God has dumped on us this last year. The noisy flashlight was by far the biggest hit of the evening, as far as presents go. It included various animal sounds, and as the sounds got louder, so the light got brighter. Fascinating to the kids of all ages that attended, though for some the fascination was in why someone would create such an obnoxious invention, obviously designed to annoy. If that was indeed its purpose, then it immediately fulfilled its potential.
Another fun experience was the reading of an unusual poem put together by one of the guys. He called it How the Grinch came to Jesus. I'll share it with you here, understanding that he offered apologies to Dr. Seuss.
How the Grinch Found Jesus
By Eric Geswender (with apologies to Dr. Seuss)
Every Who down in Whoville liked Jesus a lot
But the Grinch who lived just north of Whoville did not.
Don't ask me what for, no one quite knows why
Neither did Grinch, so he made up a lie
"Jesus is far too important, you see,
To care about trials of little old me.
If he cares not about me, then why should I him?
The Grinch didn't know he was covered in sin
That sin would take him faster than a sled
To a horrible place when he finds himself dead
I've said once before, without having a reason
That Grinch hated Jesus and his birthing season
The Grinch set about with malicious intent
To steal all the things on which their money was spent
While stealing everything from the home of a nurse
The Grinch turned and saw it, a small Bible verse
"The thief comes to steal, and kill, and destroy
I come and bring life and abundant joy"
These small simple words caused him great consternation
But they didn't stop him from taking their elation
On to the next house and more of his stealing
But Grinch found it was not now quite so appealing
During his looting something caused him to look
At some words written in a tiny book
For all have sinned in their time on the sod
All have fallen short of the glory of God
This made the Grinch think, "I sinned, I sure did"
But that didn't stop him stealing from the next kid
Just so he cannot just sue me for libel
He did, in course, find another Bible
For the wages paid for sin, you die
Except for the gift of God, no lie
The Grinch was really starting to worry
He read some more of the book in a hurry
But God commendeth his love toward us
In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
The story of the Christ caused him to tear
Was it possible for him salvation was near?
If thou shalt confess the Lord Jesus Christ
And believe he was raised from the dead with God's might
And if by mouth your confession is made
Splash, flip, boom, bam – and right then you are saved
And what happened next?
Well, in Whoville they say
That the Grinch's small heart
Grew three sizes that day
The reason was that his heart now played host
To the giant and wonderful, Great Holy Ghost
He gave everything back and healed up the chasm
And they all cheered for him at his baptism.
Isaiah 33:22 says, "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us."
Father, thank you for chances to laugh. Amen.
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