Life is uncertain. Each day is a gift from God and comes with no promise for another.”
–Dan Arnold (Bear Creek)
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
–Matthew 7:11 (NKJV)
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This coming Saturday is Christmas. What first comes to your mind? Is it the nativity and all it stands for? Perhaps the Son of God as the baby in the manger? Santa Claus? Presents, gifts–that’s it isn’t it? Christmas means gifts–not only the getting but the giving. Now there is nothing wrong in receiving a gift, but it is better to give. My Mom, who dearly loved Christmas, always had a gift for everyone in the family–nephews and nieces, brothers and sisters. They may not be much, but she wanted everyone to have something.
If we take the time, we should realize that a gift is really an extension of ourselves. Whenever a gift is given, no matter to whom it is, you are exchanging a part of your life. If the gift is frivolous, you are letting that person know it with your gift. Oh, and we need to be careful with an extravagant gift; that may be boisterous, but not necessarily so, it could be very thoughtful.
Many gifts, and rightly so, are gifts that keep on giving. There are those gifts, and most of them should be, that whenever a person looks at them they will remember the person who gave it to them. I recall one Christmas receiving several pairs of Lucchese boots. Everytime I put them on, I think of the gift and the person who gave them to me. Henry Van Dyke writes, “The finest Christmas gift is not the one that costs the most money, but the one that carries the most love.”
Too often we buy in a hurry, because of our busy schedule (at least that is our excuse). We buy thoughtlessly, not that we don’t want to get something a person would like, but that we wait too long to put much thought into it. When you read the Gospels and look at the times when Jesus gave he always took time to think. “Jesus thought before He gave; because He desired to satisfy the deepest need; because in fact He gave something of Himself in every gift. All true Christmas-giving ought to be after this pattern.” (Van Dyke)
Of course the greatest gift of Jesus to the world was Himself. The greatest gift of the Father was His Son. Jesus held back nothing. He gave of Himself. When we give a gift this Christmas we need to be conscious of the person to whom we are giving the gift. I really like what Van Dyke says, “I am thinking of you to-day, because it is Christmas, and I wish you happiness. And to-morrow, because it will be the day after Christmas, I shall still wish you happiness; and so on, clear through the year.” We should understand and realize that everyone we come in contact with we can give a touch of Christmas. It may only be a smile, and a hearty “Merry Christmas,” but it is coming from you. “After all, Christmas-living is the best kind of Christmas-giving.” (Van Dyke)
And let us not forget the wondrous gift that started with the Incarnation: “For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJV, emphasis mine).
———————————–
This coming Saturday is Christmas. What first comes to your mind? Is it the nativity and all it stands for? Perhaps the Son of God as the baby in the manger? Santa Claus? Presents, gifts–that’s it isn’t it? Christmas means gifts–not only the getting but the giving. Now there is nothing wrong in receiving a gift, but it is better to give. My Mom, who dearly loved Christmas, always had a gift for everyone in the family–nephews and nieces, brothers and sisters. They may not be much, but she wanted everyone to have something.
If we take the time, we should realize that a gift is really an extension of ourselves. Whenever a gift is given, no matter to whom it is, you are exchanging a part of your life. If the gift is frivolous, you are letting that person know it with your gift. Oh, and we need to be careful with an extravagant gift; that may be boisterous, but not necessarily so, it could be very thoughtful.
Many gifts, and rightly so, are gifts that keep on giving. There are those gifts, and most of them should be, that whenever a person looks at them they will remember the person who gave it to them. I recall one Christmas receiving several pairs of Lucchese boots. Everytime I put them on, I think of the gift and the person who gave them to me. Henry Van Dyke writes, “The finest Christmas gift is not the one that costs the most money, but the one that carries the most love.”
Too often we buy in a hurry, because of our busy schedule (at least that is our excuse). We buy thoughtlessly, not that we don’t want to get something a person would like, but that we wait too long to put much thought into it. When you read the Gospels and look at the times when Jesus gave he always took time to think. “Jesus thought before He gave; because He desired to satisfy the deepest need; because in fact He gave something of Himself in every gift. All true Christmas-giving ought to be after this pattern.” (Van Dyke)
Of course the greatest gift of Jesus to the world was Himself. The greatest gift of the Father was His Son. Jesus held back nothing. He gave of Himself. When we give a gift this Christmas we need to be conscious of the person to whom we are giving the gift. I really like what Van Dyke says, “I am thinking of you to-day, because it is Christmas, and I wish you happiness. And to-morrow, because it will be the day after Christmas, I shall still wish you happiness; and so on, clear through the year.” We should understand and realize that everyone we come in contact with we can give a touch of Christmas. It may only be a smile, and a hearty “Merry Christmas,” but it is coming from you. “After all, Christmas-living is the best kind of Christmas-giving.” (Van Dyke)
And let us not forget the wondrous gift that started with the Incarnation: “For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJV, emphasis mine).