Gifts to Jesus

The crazy holiday season is upon us! Having wrapped up Thanksgiving, we go full steam ahead into Christmas, which means we are in the gift buying season. And I'm not sure how many of us were brave or crazy enough to awake in the early morning hours of "Black Friday" to find that special gift, at the special price, for that special someone but what I am sure of is Christmas day will be here before we know it and all of the chaos will be over soon.

Now if you are like me, most of us have a person or two in our life that is impossible to buy for. Perhaps it's your spouse, parents, in-laws, or a friend that you just can't seem to find a gift for because they already have everything there is to have. And so you are stuck with the question, what do you give to someone who already has everything?

I am not sure what the answer is for buying that person a gift, but I do know that sometimes, that's how it is with God. I mean, when we consider our Father who is everything, gave everything, and has everything, the question remains the same: What do you give to the person who already has everything? To answer this we look to the Magi who traveled a long distance to see Jesus when he was born.

In Mathew chapter 2: 1-12 and Luke 2:8-20, both authors tell of Magi or shepherds who visit Jesus and bring him special gifts to adorn this new "ruler" who was prophesied to come. And even though the text specifically names the three gifts of "gold, incense, and myrrh" (Matt. 2:11) that were given to Jesus, the Magi gave so much more than what was written.

First, in all practicality, the Magi gave the gift of time. It would be silly for us to think that the only occupation these men had was to wander around, following a shiny star until it led to them to baby Jesus. No, these guys had real jobs, responsibilities, and obligations to uphold. Yet, when it came time to make their visit to Bethlehem, Luke says, "they hurried off" (Luke 2:16). The Magi didn't waste time in giving their time to Jesus. They didn't check the calendar, the planner, or the palm pilot to see if a visit to Jesus would fit into their schedules. They simply, "hurried off" and began their journey to see their new King.

Second, they gave themselves as a gift of sacrifice. In Romans 12:1, Paul tells us to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God" and this is what the Magi did. The back drop of the story of Jesus being born is the fact that King Herod wanted all of the baby boys to be killed because he knew that one of these boys was going to be the Messiah. And because this new King, Jesus, and His Kingdom posed as a threat to Herod and his kingdom, Herod wasn't going to take any chances of an uprising from this new King and his potential and have his own kingdom overthrown.
So when the Magi arrive, Herod calls them in, has them go out to find the baby, and wants them to report back to him for the whereabouts of the baby. The Magi do indeed, go and find the baby, however, the don't report back to King Herod and take another route home because of the risk that they might loose their lives if Herod finds out he's been tricked.
The Magi risked their lives, sacrificed their lives so that Jesus could live. They knew what the cost of deceiving Herod would be, yet they were willing to make that sacrifice anyway.
So not only did the Magi give their time to Jesus, but they gave the gift of sacrifice as well.

Finally, the last gift the Magi gave was the gift of worship. When the Magi arrive at the stable, they found Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, as Mathew records their response saying, "they bowed down and worshipped him" (Matt 2:11). Not only do they worship Jesus upon arrival, but they continue to praise him when they leave as Luke wrote, "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all of the things they had heard and seen" (Luke 2:20).
Whether Jesus is lying in a manger, nailed to the cross, or sitting on the throne, there is no better gift to give Him than to bow down and worship. This was what the Magi did as they welcome the Savior of the world into existence.

So what do we give to our God who has everything? Maybe the real question is, what do we give to our God who gave everything? I believe that just as the Magi gave the gifts of time, sacrifice, and worship, we ought to give the same.

God gave and continues to give everything to us in all that Jesus was, is, and always will be. Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior, our Redeemer, our Refuge, the one who has taken all of our sins away and has us washed clean, purified us, and has given us a new life free of guilt and shame. God gave us all of this because he knew we needed it most.

So let's give God our time by giving our time to those who need it most. Let's sacrifice our lives for those who need it most. And let's worship our Lord and Savior because he gave it all for us, the world, who needs it most.

~ Brian