I’ve heard lots of complaints about gift-giving at Christmas – that the real meaning of Christmas is buried beneath a bunch of colorfully wrapped presents.
But I think gift giving symbolizes what Christmas is all about – that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son – and His son didn’t just do it because He had, too – He knew what birth was going to be like. He knew what being a regular Jewish boy in a regular family would feel like. He knew ahead of time friends would betray Him. He knew He was going to die a horrendous, grievous, shameful, excruciating death. Yet the Father and the Son gave to us Hope that Christmas morning over 2,000 years ago.
Each gift you pick out this year – compare it to the first Christmas gift, ponder that gift – and try to put as much Jesus love into that gift as possible – even if it is a note of hope, a scarf to keep cold fingers warm on the way to work, or a toy that brings joy to a little world.
At Christmas we practice giving because He first gave to us.
Find out more about the Hope within the Christmas Wrapping over at Lynn’s blog, “Heading Home,” where I am honored and excited to be a guest writer. Take a cup of coffee, spend time with her. She is a blessing!
Blue Cotton Memory 