“And when (the wise men)… saw the young Child…(they) fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” -Matthew 2:11
Alright, I’m sure all of us have some very similar Christmas traditions. One in particular: We gather around the Christmas tree with our families and open the presents. Where did this tradition come from? Well, since Jesus’ birth was quite literally God’s Gift to the world, it’s an easy guess. It’s a great day of celebration and gift-giving. But I think we forgot one key part of this celebration. We forget to bring our gifts to the One who started this holiday in the first place.
The story of the wise men really caught my attention. They knew that God had just presented the Ultimate Gift. Although they received this Gift with joy, they also brought their best before Him in return. The first Christmas gift-swap was actually a beautiful moment of worship.
So, I got to thinking. These wise men had the right idea, but how can I give back to God now when He’s not in physical form anymore? Ah, but that’s where the fun of it is! You get to be creative! It can be a “date”- setting aside a certain date and time to have some One-on-one with Him….it could be reaching out and blessing someone in some cool way, or an act of service…it could be setting a resolution with Him….it could be surrendering something to Him that you’ve been fighting Him on….could be writing Him a song….the list goes on and on. Just start thinking of how you can show Him you love Him through a specific thing and the “gift ideas” will start rolling.
We can never out-gift God. But we can make Him smile. Two thousand years ago this Christmas, God sent us a very clear message: “I love you.” Let’s start thinking of how we can say “I love You” back on this special day. It is His birthday, after all.
Seasons of Grace 