Dads always get the worst gifts. They don’t mind — they know how this works. Our kids would buy us the world if they could, but they only have the dollars we let them have so we get Spongebob ties or joke golf balls and we smile. The gifts might not be things we dream about, but the love of our kids is our real present and we know that.

In the old Peanuts comic strip, Linus once gave his mother some old french fries wrapped up with a rubber band. She loved it. It was what he had and it was given in love. Jesus once responded to a woman whose gift was rather odd and bizarre by saying “she has done what she could.”

Jesus wants us to know that God loves it when His children notice Him and do things for Him. Jesus made a point out of this fact of life. First, to be a leader in his church, you have to be married and to have successfully raised children. Wonder why? Because there are some things you can only know by living in close community with another person and with your children. Then, Jesus compares our love for our children with his Father’s love for us (and his Father’s love of showering us with gifts).

This came up recently when I asked a man which mattered more to God — our response or the quality of our response. He said “the quality of our response.” I was stunned. I led him through Jesus’ life to show him he was wrong. Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus and Jesus was so touched he promised to have supper with him that day… all before Zacchaeus repented. When an accused woman stood in front of him, he forgave her and told her to change her life. Catch that? He forgave her before she repented. The Samaritan woman was argumentative and difficult, but her heart was good and her life was broken so Jesus responded to her with love, grace, and forgiveness and gave her the honor of being the first to hear from him that he was the Christ. All before she repented or did something “worthy.”

Jesus did not look at our responses to him, judge them, and toss them aside as unworthy. Those who ignored him or rebelled against him — sure, they were judged. But those who responded to him were given every consideration, even those they didn’t ask for or dream they could ever receive.

Think of it this way: I have a life goal I’ve never told anyone about. I want to be God’s dog. Think about it. I used to have dogs but can’t right now due to my lifestyle and where we live. I’ve told my wife I’d like to rent a dog for a half hour twice a day. Those of you who have dogs know where I am going with this. When you walk in the door, a dog is thrilled to see you. It can’t wait to greet you enthusiastically. Sometimes its response to you is more than you want — muddy paws, bits of hair, a knocked over lamp as it rushes to get to you. But that is the wonderful thing about a dog — it cares you are home. My collies would lay on their blankets and stare at me, waiting for any hint that I wanted them. Any small sign from me would result in them bounding over, so joyful their tails were wagging their entire back ends.

I want to be God’s dog. I want to respond to Him every single time He passes by or looks at me. I want to respond to Him enthusiastically, without fear of putting a foot wrong.

And what does God show us? In Jesus, he shows us that what God is looking for is not a perfect response, a perfect life, or perfect gifts. He is looking for us to be as happy to see Him as He is to see us.

When a child draws you a picture and hands it to you, do you critique it, criticize it, and tell them that is isn’t acceptable until it comes up to your standard? Of course not! What makes us think that God requires a supreme, pristine level of response from us before He deigns to acknowledge us or show us love?

It is the fact that we automatically respond to Him, not the quality of that response, that God honors. It brings a smile to His face… just like we smile at Spongebob ties and crude crayon drawings of trees and bunnies. When our children think of us and rush to us, we take their PB&J smeared faces and kiss them. We don’t require them to be clean and then to approach us formally. And what makes us think we are better and more loving than the God who made us and gave up His own Son to get our attention?