Advent: Day 13:
“The Great Christmas Gift Exchange”
Scripture: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced
exceedingly with great joy. After coming
into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the
ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening
their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:10-11).
When we give gifts from our possessions unto the LORD it is not
that we are assisting GOD because He has need. And, hopefully, it is not because we want to
give with expectation of receiving from Him some large material “blessing” in
return. We give gifts to the LORD simply
because we love Him and because we have something within us that desires to
give to those whom we love something from ourselves. It is especially meaningful when whatever we
chose to give requires some sacrifice on our part; which is what the LORD exemplified
in His redemptive gift of His Only Son.
In some mystical miraculous way, as we give sacrificially unto the
LORD, we experience a deeper level of intimacy in our relationship with
Him. Isn’t that the way He created
us? GOD did not create us to be
self-serving and self-centered. He
created us to be loving and sacrificial.
His word speaks of this from Genesis through Revelation.
As we give unto the LORD we are basically declaring that our love
for Him is truly the greatest treasure of our heart rather than any material thing
in this world (Matt. 6:21). It becomes
for us an incredible expression of worship.
This is what the Magi were expressing as they brought gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
As we celebrate Christmas through giving gifts to those whom we
love we are embracing this same spiritual truth. Paul even quoted JESUS, “It is more blessed
to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Only those who have authentic intimacy
with the LORD can truly grasp the full meaning of JESUS’ statement.
This is the great joy of Christmas . . . GOD gave the greatest
gift of all . . . He gave Himself in the form of His divine Son . . . who
became a man and dwelt among sinners (John
1:14). In response of His love for
us and our love for Him we can’t help but to make every effort to give some of
ourselves back to Him. The most
sacrificial thing we could give would be ourselves . . . our lives.
May we bring our gifts unto the LORD to say to Him, “You alone can
satisfy my heart . . . not anything or anyone in this world . . . Only You!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Richard
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