Giving is a natural response to loving

​The boys and I had a memorable first trip to Busch Gardens yesterday. But in the midst of so many big rides and big shows and big selections of delicious things to eat and drink - in a day overwhelmed by thrills - it was a relatively small and quiet moment I will likely always remember the most.

We were taking a bit of a break. The three of us were lined up on a bench drinking sodas and eating snacks. Ian was eating Pringles potato chips (I hope I didn't suggest we were eating healthy snacks). Elliott asked Ian if he could have a couple of them. Ian reached into his small tube and handed Elliott several chips.

As Elliott sat eating them, one fell to the ground. In response, without a second thought or a word or even much recognition that he'd even noticed the chip fall to the ground, Ian reached into his tube and handed Elliott several more.

He replaced the one lost with many.

I think that hit me with the magnitude it did because it was all instinct. There was no thinking about the giving. It was Ian's natural response to Elliott's loss. It was like I was watching a well rehearsed scene in a movie. It just flowed. Only, I knew there were no scripts involved.

It was just two people living life with love as the centerpiece.

As I sat there, I didn't find myself caught up in a proud dad moment. I found myself caught up in an 'I wish the whole world operated like this' moment. I found myself wondering what the world would look like if when one of us dropped one chip, the people around us rushed to our side to replace it with many.

I found myself reminded that's how it is supposed to be.

There is a beautiful question asked in the book of First John in the bible. That question is this:

'But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?'

The answer is it doesn't. Over and over the bible defines love as lovingly giving to our brothers and sisters. And in the bible, brothers and sisters isn't defined by blood, it's defined by our shared humanity.

One of the most often quoted scriptures in the bible comes from the book of John. It says:

For God so loved the world He gave his one and only son.

That struck me in a way this morning I don't think it ever has before.

For God so loved - he GAVE.

Ian giving Elliott those potato chips - it was his instinctual response to his love for him.

God giving us his son - it was his instinctual response to his love for us.

And how instinctually we give to one another, well I guess that's a measure of just how much we truly love one another.