“When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 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.” Matthew 2:10-11 (NLT)
Our culture, unfortunately, misunderstands giving. We think of it, honestly, as trading. I get you something, you get me something—hopefully we spend about the same amount of money so no one feels awkward. We all know that panicked feeling when a friend shows up at our door in December with a wrapped package in her hand, and we realize we didn’t get anything for them. We now feel we “owe” them a gift. I’ve read articles in women’s magazines that suggest keeping a wrapped stash of generic gifts in your front closet for such unexpected occasions. Kind of takes the meaning out of it, doesn’t it?
Imagine if the wise men had thought this way: “I wonder what Mary and Joseph will give us. Do you think they’ll know we got this frankincense on clearance at TJ Maxx?” Of course not. And did Mary, seeing these strange gifts, think, “Okay, gold, that works for me. But spices you normally use for burial? What kind of baby gift is that? And it’s so awkward that I have nothing to give them in return!”
Jesus and His family simply received their gifts without any concern for what they would give back. The Magi likewise seemed unconcerned with reciprocity—it was enough to find and worship a king they’d seen declared in the night sky years before.
In the same way, we can never give something equal in value to God’s Christmas gift—Jesus. He is a gift we must humbly receive.
Faith step: Spend some time thinking about God’s generous gift of his Son. How can you be generous to others in the way God has been generous to you?
