Strolling through a store recently, I spotted a banner that read: “It’s the season of giving.”
That gave me pause. Sure, Christmastime brings out the giver in almost everyone. We enjoy picking out presents, wrapping them in pretty papers, and passing them out to loved ones. We enjoy seeing happy faces, as family members and friends open these parcels with surprise and delight.
Don’t we all glow a bit when someone dear to us presents us with something special and treasured? Gifts are one of the “five love languages,” as articulated by Gary Chapman in his popular book by that title. (By the way, I think there are more than five. For example, my love language is ice cream. Forgive me. I digress.)
What are your favorite gifts you’ve ever received for Christmas?
It seems the most thoughtful gifts are personalized to the recipient. That doesn’t mean they’re monogrammed or imprinted. They just fit the person.
Some of my most memorable gifts have been:
- Tickets to attend a show together
- Framed photo of a shared experience
- A photocopy of my mom’s devotional reader, including her margin notes (after she passed)
Surely, you can add plenty of special gifts to that list.
Why do we give gifts at Christmas time, anyway?
1) The celebration started with the angels and the shepherds.
The angels heralding the birth of Christ bestowed gifts of comfort and joy upon the shepherds by Bethlehem, known as the City of David. (See Luke 2 for the whole story.)
Remember David, the shepherd boy who killed the Philistine giant with his slingshot and later became king?
Back to Bethlehem: These startled folks, guarding their herds in the night, were roused suddenly by an angel choir and instructed not to fear, but to go immediately and view the Holy Child. History indicates these particular shepherds raised special lambs exclusively for sacrifice at the Temple in Jerusalem. It’s no coincidence that they were chosen to visit the Lamb of God, who would become both the Good Shepherd and the Passover sacrifice for all of us.
When we bless one another with Christmas cards and words of comfort and joy, we echo the angelic greetings on the night of our Savior’s birth.
2) The magi gave gifts to Jesus.
The gift-giving tradition goes way back to the wise men (or
magi), who brought treasures to the Infant Christ. (See Matthew 2:1-12.)
We may scratch our heads and wonder about those seemingly strange offerings,
but they were both prophetic and practical. These items had well-known and
important purposes at that time:
- Gold was traditionally given to recognize royalty.
- Frankincense was employed in divine worship. (Look up incense in the Old Testament.)
- Myrrh was used for anointing and for burial.
Christian tradition holds that these gifts helped to finance Mary and Joseph’s flight to Egypt to escape King Herod's wrath. (See Matthew 2:13-15.) Jehovah Jireh, the Provider, works in wondrous ways!
When we give Christmas gifts, we commemorate the generosity of the magi to the incarnate Christ born to redeem us.
3) We give because He has given to us.
That’s Christmas in one line.
- We bless, because He first blessed us.
- We come to Him, because He first came to us.
- We are called to love, because He first loved us.
“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, NIV)
4) Christmas is a big birthday party.
We honor the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. Sure, scholars of various sorts have long debated the actual date of Jesus’ birth. But for the rest of us, we choose to celebrate His nativity on December 25th – and we are grateful for this indescribably wondrous gift all year long.
Related items:
· Christ’s Nativity – Shepherds Are Awed
· Devotion, a Dream and a Donkey
· How to Make a Jesse Tree for Christmas
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