Too often people spend more money than they have to give gifts at this season of the year and, unfortunately, too often they are trying to make up for feeling guilty over things from the rest of the year. We can often give gifts to make up for not giving ourselves to others. The giving of gifts is not the problem, but rather the why of the gift giving and the result of the gift giving and how it affects our honoring God in our finances. Although the celebration of Christ coming to earth in human form did include gifts, that was not the majority of what the origination of this celebration was about. The origination of this time of celebration focused more on presence than it did on presents. The incarnation was about Christ coming into the presence of mankind. The coming of Christ was first celebrated by shepherds coming to see the baby Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem in order to be in the presence of the Messiah sent from God. They did not bring presents to present to Jesus, they merely brought themselves to be present with the Saviour. Even the wise men stated their purpose in coming to see Jesus was to worship Him. The gifts they brought to give to Jesus were more about honoring Him, not merely making them feel good about what they had done. The gifts they brought had meaning and purpose acknowledging who Jesus was and why He came. The gold acknowledged Him as the King of kings. The frankincense recognized his deity and worthiness of worship. The myrrh identified His humanity and the sacrifice He would give in the end of His earthly ministry in His death for our sin debt before God. I wish to encourage us all to keep our focus of our Christmas celebration more about presence with God in worship and with loved ones in meaningful relationship building over the focus of spending money and giving gifts. I encourage you to give gifts that have meaning, intention, and purpose. I hope we will all use this season to glorify God and point others to building relationship with Him. Have a blessed Incarnation Celebration!
Presence Over Presents
Too often people spend more money than they have to give gifts at this season of the year and, unfortunately, too often they are trying to make up for feeling guilty over things from the rest of the year. We can often give gifts to make up for not giving ourselves to others. The giving of gifts is not the problem, but rather the why of the gift giving and the result of the gift giving and how it affects our honoring God in our finances. Although the celebration of Christ coming to earth in human form did include gifts, that was not the majority of what the origination of this celebration was about. The origination of this time of celebration focused more on presence than it did on presents. The incarnation was about Christ coming into the presence of mankind. The coming of Christ was first celebrated by shepherds coming to see the baby Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem in order to be in the presence of the Messiah sent from God. They did not bring presents to present to Jesus, they merely brought themselves to be present with the Saviour. Even the wise men stated their purpose in coming to see Jesus was to worship Him. The gifts they brought to give to Jesus were more about honoring Him, not merely making them feel good about what they had done. The gifts they brought had meaning and purpose acknowledging who Jesus was and why He came. The gold acknowledged Him as the King of kings. The frankincense recognized his deity and worthiness of worship. The myrrh identified His humanity and the sacrifice He would give in the end of His earthly ministry in His death for our sin debt before God. I wish to encourage us all to keep our focus of our Christmas celebration more about presence with God in worship and with loved ones in meaningful relationship building over the focus of spending money and giving gifts. I encourage you to give gifts that have meaning, intention, and purpose. I hope we will all use this season to glorify God and point others to building relationship with Him. Have a blessed Incarnation Celebration!