I love Christmas time. It was always my mother’s favorite time of year, too. It seems to come hurtling at us faster than it used to, and there always seems to be too much to do and too little time to do it. And I really don’t remember feeling so tired at Christmas time when I was a kid!
But I still love it. I love the Christmas trees (the Reformer Martin Luther was the first to decorate an evergreen tree – with real candles! – based on Isaiah 60:13); I love Saint Nicholas (he was the bishop of Lycia in the 4th century, who was noted for his love for the poor, especially in giving small bags of gold to children); and I love the gifts, which mirror the gifts that the Wise men brought to the Baby Jesus in Matthew 2:11, and which reflect the image of our Creator who “so loved the world that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16; see also Luke 11:13).
Figuring out what to give who is always a challenge. I have to say that some of the best gifts I’ve ever received weren’t all that expensive. When my youngest brother Curt was just a kid, have gave me a drawing of Superman that he made for me. A couple of years later he gave me a video tape full of Batman cartoons that he had diligently recorded for me every day after school. Neither gift cost much money, but I still have the drawing and the video tapes.
Here are some gifts you can give this Christmas that won’t cost you much money, but are really priceless. These suggestions come from Charles Swindoll’s book Growing Strong:
Mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion, tell someone, “I love you.”
Give something away – anonymously.
Forgive someone who has treated you wrong.
Turn away wrath with a soft answer.
Visit someone in a nursing home.
Apologize if you were wrong.
Be especially kind to someone with whom you work.
Give as God gave to you in Christ, without obligation, or announcement, or reservation, or hypocrisy.
…And if all that fails, there’s always chocolate. (Okay, that last one wasn’t from Swindoll.)
May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His only begotten Son to be “born a little baby thing that made a woman cry”, make your Christmas a real time of peace on earth and good will toward men. May He visit you with laughter, and comfort you in your sorrows; and may He make each taste of food, and each surprise gift, and every hug and kiss from people you love a reminder of Heaven yet to come.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor Davi