Were the Whole Realm of Nature Mine

I wonder what Donald Trump wants for Christmas this year.

Will Oprah's friends give her a gift certificate to Sears?

Does Bill Gates look forward to unwrapping his presents?

Will members of the royal family go shopping at Harrods of London with Queen Elizabeth's name on their list?

It's hard to buy gifts for the wealthy and powerful. What can you give to loved ones who already own everything they could possibly need?

I was thinking about this the other day in church when we sang the hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," and we came to the line that says, "Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small." How can I show my appreciation for all of God's goodness?

If the whole realm of nature were mine, I could give him a million trees with their orange, red, and mottled leaves. I could build wooden artworks with fine grains of oak, redwood, cherry, and pine.

If the whole realm of nature were mine, I could present the Lord peacocks and penguins, lamas and leopards, sheep and salamanders. I could dig into the crust of the earth and uncover gems and precious stones to give him: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. I could present the Lord with a thousand pearls scooped from the slime of their oyster shells. I could build him a palace with walls of granite and marble inlaid with silver and gold.

If the whole realm of nature were mine, I could offer him all the wonders of the ocean: seahorses and starfish, turtles and squid, whales and dolphins, and tropical fish of all colors and shapes.

I could give the Lord majestic mountain peaks, shimmering lakes surrounded by evergreens, and fertile valleys where crops yield their harvest year after year. I could give him the ice and snow of Antarctica, the rain forests of Brazil, the Alps' flowered slopes. I could give him the sun and the moon, and millions of stars with all their luminous glory.

But of course, God already owns all of these things. He designed and created them. He understands how they tick. He's smarter than the greatest scientist, richer than the wealthiest entrepreneur, savvier than the wisest philosopher. "I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens," the Lord says, "for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine" (Psalm 50:9-10).

As Job discovered, God is the one who laid the earth's foundation, who fixed the boundaries of the sea, who separated light from darkness and sent rain and ice to water the land. God flung the constellations into space. He's the one who created lions, mountain goats, donkeys, oxen, ostriches, horses, hawks, and eagles. He's unrivaled in wisdom and power, unequaled in holiness and strength.

What can I give the One who already owns it all? For starters, my sincere and heartfelt thanks.

Even if the whole realm of nature were mine, it would still be a present far too small. I can never repay the Lord for what he did at the cross, but I am not powerless to respond. "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."