Jesus changed gift-giving forever.

Why do we give gifts at Christmas time?  I’ve been giving it some thought.  Where did it all begin?  It seems that gifts in the Old Testament were seen as an appropriate way for an inferior to express submission to, or to win the favor of, a superior individual.  But with the dawning of the New Testament—that is to say, when Jesus was born, the whole concept of gifts, and gift-giving, was blown wide open! 

See, rather than a subordinate or inferior individual giving a present to a superior, the Ultimate Superior in the universe is now seen giving gifts to humanity.  And it all started with God’s greatest gift . . . Jesus.  Paul described God’s heart well, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”1  Ah, yes, God . . . the Great Gift Giver.

Some time after Jesus’ birth, the Magi braved deserts and mountains, committed to finding the Christ Child.  While we cannot say for certain how many wise men there were, we do know how many gifts they brought … three highly significant and symbolic gifts.  Gold. Frankincense. Myrrh.  Of course, gold is still highly valued, though the other two would not be found on any of our ‘wish’ lists!  Neither frankincense nor myrrh is thought to be desirable in today’s western culture; but in Jesus’ day, frankincense was a symbol of priesthood, and myrrh was used as embalming oil.  Joseph and Mary would have known that—I wonder how they reacted to receiving myrrh as a gift . . . How much did Mary know about this newborn baby she held in her arms; how much did she realize about what his life would entail, of how it would end?

Though the gifts were presented to the baby Messiah in a Bethlehem stable, rather than to a king in a royal palace, the presents were nonetheless highly valued and symbolic of the loyalty and reverence due a king.2

Gifts. Somehow, like no other New Testament writer, Paul seemed to ‘get’ God’s heart toward his children.  ‘For by grace you have been saved by faith.  It is the gift of God…’ he wrote to the Ephesians.3  Through the Holy Spirit, God further graces each of his children with endowments from above.  These ‘spiritual gifts’ were given so that the body of Christ could be built up and edified from within—what a marvelous creation of God!4

Oh yes, God gives good gifts to his children!  Jesus himself said, ‘If your earthly father knows how to give good gifts, how much more does your Heavenly Father!’5  And the brother of our Lord reminded us that ‘every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father above.’6

A few other things I noticed about the nature of God’s gift giving:

God’s gifts are offered freely

    God’s gifts are given spontaneously

       God’s gifts involve no merit on the part of the one receiving

          God’s gifts are always with the recipient in mind

              God’s gifts are eternal—they are lasting.

One thing is for certain—when God gave us the gift of his Son, he set in motion gifts that would impact mankind forever. Yes, Jesus changed gift-giving forever!

Christine