little drummer boy

As you may know I like to "gut" songs as to figure out their meanings; I mean, why do I like them and what am I really singing about anyway? My last song was "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." I seriously love that song and I listen to it on a daily basis and more recently I have begun to have a liking for that famous Christmas carol: the little drummer boy. Judge as you may, but normally I have never really been a fan of this song and then one day I heard the version as sung by "The Almost." Oh man. Serious fan now.

Let me just paint the picture that God painted for me:

The song is about a boy (there is no biblical evidence that this story is true, but I think it's a great depiction of how we should be) that was told to go and visit baby Jesus in the manger; they were going to bring great gifts out of honor for the King. So the little boy goes with them and when he gets there he sees all the great gifts that have been brought. Feeling a bit discouraged and probably embarrassed that he didn't have anything "fit for a King" to give, he peers into the manger and says: I'm sorry that I don't have gifts to give you that would be fit for a King because I am poor too. All I have is a drum and I know how to play, would you like me to play for you? [I picture this little boy standing there with a drum, look from the manger to Mary with an expression of both eyebrows going up and a slight frown-type lip pucker because he is uncertain of what her response will be and insecure of his less-fortunate tidings.] The song goes on to say that Mary nods as in agreement that he should play for him and so the little boy does just that: he plays. But he's not just playing his drum, the song says he plays his best for him. Then the song ends with the picture of baby Jesus smiling up at the little drummer boy.

I think that is such a beautiful picture of how happy God is with us when we simply give Him our best. He does not demand that we be perfect, rich, talented in all areas, or even highly successful. He just wants us to give Him our best. All throughout scripture there are examples of this. Looking at the story of Cain and Abel, God was displeased with Cain's offering because he did not give God his best (Genesis 4). No matter how small, poor, or lacking in whatever we may think we are lacking in: God still desires our best and smiles when we give it to Him. Think of the poor widow's offering in Mark 12:41-44. She gave less than everyone else there, but the most in comparison to how much she actually had. I hope when you hear this song, you are reminded that all God wants from us is our best. We don't have to be perfect at everything, the most successful, and we definitely don't have to have the latest trendy possessions to be right in the eyes of God. Just give Him your best and He will do the same for you.

I know it's a Christmas song, but listen to it again...