It is really all about The Gift

It is really all about The Gift.

(Today’s thought comes from the archives. In the past, many commented that it gave them real food for thought.
May the Lord bless His Word for us today.)

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? If you're like a majority of Americans, though it is the first week of December, you still have people on your gift list without a matching gift! So what kind of gift-giver are you?

There is the CHEAP giver.

is driven by one goal - buying something, anything, that satisfies the imperative for gift giving - while spending as little money or energy as possible. My one question to this person is - "why bother?" You have missed the meaning of Christmas entirely. Save yourself the effort because the person who receives your 'gift' will only be obligated to write an insincere 'thank you' note!

There is HURRIED giver.

With hummingbird-like rapidity, she darts from store to store, grabbing this and that and checking off the names on her list. Obligation, not love, is the primary drive behind the search.

There is the "PAY MY DEBTS" giver.

This person hopes that with one gift; usually too costly, often ostentatious, they will atone for their failures through the year. No gift can do this, and this giver is sadly set up for disappointment!

There is the "I'D SURE LIKE THAT" giver.
She buys gifts she would like to receive and presents them to others! Her gifts are often very nice, but don't 'fit.' Why? Because, in her heart, she's selfish. Her gifts reveal that she is in love with herself. She cannot see what is going on outside of her own skin.

Hallelujah! There is the "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU" giver.

This is the heart of Christmas! This person thinks carefully about the person for whom he is getting a gift and, after a careful search, prepares a gift that he presents with no strings attached. It may be simple, cost next to nothing, and still have great value.  One of the memorable Christmas gifts was given to me by one of my son’s several years ago. It’s a small, home-made book, in which he remembers moments from his childhood that made him feel loved.  Whenever I look through it, I feel his love.

This is how God gave to us.  In the Scripture, this very familiar text is also a precious one.  We read that "God so loved ____________________ (insert your name here) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NIV)

His Gift was rich,
prepared from eternity,
given to settle my debts,
based on my need, and
shaped by His love for me!

In your gift-giving, make LOVE the reason.

Having trouble finding a gift for someone on your list?  Relax and think about who they are, what they need, and how you can express love in a language they'll understand. It will come to you! Perhaps the gift will not be a ‘thing’ at all. Perhaps it will be the gift of your  listening ear, your concern, your prayer, an embrace, an encouraging word, or an expression of your confidence in that person.  This is always true: the best gifts are, like God's gift to us, a gift of ourselves.

Don't forget to offer your best gift to the One who is the Reason for the Season. Find time to worship, to serve, to give of yourself in His Name.  Let God love you, friend.  His love changes everything and those who are loved by God become the best gift-givers in the world for they learn to give richly, with purpose, to meet the need of the recipient, and with love - just like their heavenly Dad!

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