So much more ...

Gifts represent so much more than just the tangible object given. Think about it.

When you give a gift, it actually grows out of the relationship that you have with the person. I mean, rarely do we randomly give a gift to a complete stranger. There is a connection between you and the gift recipient. That's why you give. It is a reflection of the relationship.

When you give a gift, you also are giving out of a decision you have made about the relationship and what the right gift would be. Over the years, Dianna and I have laughed and laughed about the number of gifts I have given her that go back to the store in exchange for the gift she actually wanted. But it doesn't mean there was a lack of thought that went into the gift. It just wasn't always the "right gift".

When you give a gift, you are also giving your time. It takes your time to go and purchase the gift (even if you are ordering it through your smart phone app). You pay for it with your time, because the money you have earned through your work (time), is what enables you to make the gift.

When you give a gift, it is sometimes a genuine sacrifice.  You are giving up something else (or other options of what you would do with the money), for the gift for the recipient. In a sense you are "giving up something you love for someone you love more." That is the definition of sacrifice.

I love this story from Christmas:

And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Gold was a gift to honor a King. It represented royalty. The Magi told Herod they had come to see a King. And so they brought a gift to honor a King.

Frankincense was an unusual gift. It was a highly valued and genuinely rare gift. It was used in the temple for the worship of God. There was an altar (the incense altar) that continually burned. Frankincense was the incense that wafted upward in a sweet smelling white smoke that represented the prayers of people.

Myrrh was a VERY unusual gift for a baby shower! It was a perfume. It was most often used for funerals, placed into the burial shrouds to help prevent the smell of death and decay. Indeed the truth in the gift is that Jesus was born to die---for you and for me.

Clearly, they put much thought into their gifts for Christ.

Have you?

Have you prayed about your gift to the King, the Lord God, the one who was born at Christmas to die?

I encourage you to pray about your gift for Christ. This coming Sunday, December 23rd, at all three of our Christmas services (8 AM, 9 AM, 10:30 AM) we will receive our "Gift for Christ" offering.

It is a way of giving your gift to the Lord. Have you been thinking/praying/planning for your gift to Him?

Would you pray that this offering truly would be a Christ-honoring expression in your life and in the life of our church?