It’s that time of year again. I’m sure you feel it: the darkening nights bring with them the advent of Christmas. The frenzy of purchasing begins. The pressure to find something that that somebody might actually appreciate. And so we fill our homes with trivia for us to give away to those we love, and to those we don’t. It’s an obligation; sometimes a weight felt, often a genuine desire to please a loved one. But, it’s a courageous move to refuse to partake in the gifting and regifting.
Why gifts? Because we believe that Christmas stands for the greatest gift of all, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world that he made, for the sake of us all. In Romans 6:23 we’re told that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We expect our wages, demand them. We hope for our gifts.
In all the gifting and regifting of trivia we instinctively long for a grander gesture, something in keeping with our deepest need, something in keeping with the magnitude of the season. There’s an irony in the giving and receiving of that which has so little value. We all hope that even if the gift received costs little that there is genuine thought and care behind it; that the giver wants to give. But to celebrate the greatest gift ever with ephemera somehow doesn’t feel right. And it shouldn’t.
The gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, to save a people for himself is so great that we could never afford it. No matter how much this world proclaims that we can do whatever we want if we would only believe in ourselves, we’re fundamentally incapable of raising ourselves up to heaven. We’re unable to give ourselves or anyone else eternal life.
But that gift above all gifts is offered by Jesus. He gives what we cannot afford. Not trivia, not ephemeral, not valueless, but the most significant, the most enduring, the greatest value. Life. Not just eternal in duration, but all encompassing, joyous, hope fulfilled reality.
So, how can we respond rightly to Christmas? The poet Christina Rossetti penned these words:
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am? —
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part, —
Yet what I can I give Him, —
Give my heart.
In response to the gift of Jesus, the most, and the least that we can give, is our hearts, fully and wholly. In adoration, in worship, in wonder, in grateful thanks for the surpassing gift of Immanuel, God with us. And the joy of Christmas is that we can regift this hope time and time again to those whom we love. We can regift this hope to those who don’t yet see that wonder of Christmas is the gift beyond all gifts, that is offered to all who will believe in the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
And surely in that, and in that alone we can sing with hope and with true assurance this Christmas:
Joy to the world; the Lord is come.
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