Last Tuesday we saw that we should celebrate Christ’s birthday every day by spending special time with Him, by listening for His voice, by loving one another and by trusting Him. But all birthday celebrations include the giving of gifts. What kind of gifts can we give Jesus daily that would show our appreciation for His ultimate gift to us?
The world’s wisest man suggests just what kind of a gift would be most appreciated by the King of Kings: “O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.” (Prov. 23:26 NLT). The present Jesus wants the most is our hearts. After all, if you give up your life for someone, wouldn’t accepting your gift make you the most happy?
We get another clue as to what kinds of gifts are fit for a King from the birthday gifts that Jesus actually received: “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.” (Matt. 2:11 NIV).
In those days, gold was considered a gift for a king. Perhaps we don’t have any gold hanging around to give to Jesus, but when we allow Him to be the King of our hearts, we are giving a beautiful gift, a gift of gold, to our King of Kings.
Frankincense is used throughout the Bible as a symbol of the priestly role, and in giving Jesus Frankincense, the Wisemen were treating the Christ child like the High Priest that He would become. When we allow Jesus to be our priest, to intercede before the Father on our behalf, to carry our petitions before the Holy God, we are giving a beautiful gift, a gift of Frankincense, to our ultimate High Priest.
Myrrh is used throughout Biblical times as an embalming spice. By giving Jesus the gift of myrrh, the Wisemen were prefiguring His death. When we accept the sin offering made available to us through Jesus death, we are giving the most beautiful of gifts, the gift of Myrrh, to our ultimate Saviour.
A final clue about what kind of a gift is fit for the King of Kings actually comes to us from the traditional family dinner that has become an important part of every Christmas celebration. With us spending hours making a wonderful meal to feed our families and friends, wouldn’t it also make Jesus happy if we would be so conscientious about feeding His family?
This “feeding” can be physical food. It would make Jesus so happy if we would give the homeless and hungry of this world food and water in His name: “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?…And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'” (Matt. 25:37-40 NLT).
This “feeding” can also be of a spiritual nature. Jesus told Peter–three times!–that he should feed God’s lambs: “‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ Peter replied, ‘you know I love you.’ ‘Then feed my lambs,’ Jesus told him.” (John 21:15 NLT).
Thus, when we feed one another both physically and spiritually, we are giving a Kingly gift to our King of Kings in celebration of all that He has done for us.
Friends, let’s not get hung up in the discussion of whether or not Christians should celebrate Christmas. Instead, let’s ensure that we celebrate Jesus’ birth every day of the year by giving Him our hearts, by allowing Him to be our King, our High Priest and our Saviour, by spending time with Him daily, by trusting Him and obeying His commands, by loving God and loving each other, by following in His ways and by feeding His sheep!
If you’ve missed any of the “Christ’s Birth, a Call for Celebration” mini-series, please clickhere, or email me and I’ll send them to you. May God bless each of you as you celebrate Christ’s birthday…every day of the year!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, andScriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, withAnswers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
(To access the entire “Christ’s Birth: A Call for Celebration!” mini-series, please click here.)