A Christmas Gift For You
Start a new family tradition this Christmas
Imagine your friends and family throw you a lavish birthday party and everyone brings lots of expensive gifts. However, when it’s time to open presents, they give them to each other. None of the gifts are for you! Would you be frustrated? Would you want to shout out, “Excuse me, but this is my birthday party, are there no gifts for me?”
While this may seem a rather ridiculous scenario, I find it curious that we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas by giving gifts to each other. Not that I don’t enjoy buying and receiving gifts, but shouldn’t there be somewhere in the celebration the opportunity to give a gift to the one whose birth has caused all this celebration?
If you agree, then let me ask, “What are you giving Jesus this year for His birthday?” Put another way, wouldn’t it be a meaningful part of your Christmas if you came to Christmas day and had a very special gift for Him? Are you willing to wrap one more present this Christmas, put Jesus’s name on it, place it under the tree and give it to Him with all your love on Christmas day?
I would encourage you to create a new family tradition this Christmas. Have everyone do exactly that. Challenge your family members to choose one very special gift that they want to give to Jesus this Christmas. Have them wrap it, put His name on it and put it under the tree. Then on Christmas Day, one-by-one, open your gifts and share with friends and family what you chose to give to Jesus on His birthday. You may want to collect them and create an album that you can bring out next year and recall back how you did giving the gift back to Jesus throughout the year.
So, what might we give Him? He is the quintessential guy who ‘has everything’. Well, I would suggest you start by asking Him the same question you ask all your family and friends, “what would you like from me this Christmas?”
If we are willing to listen, really listen for His voice and leading, I’m confident He will answer that question for each of us. We may find that the gift He wants from us may be the most costly gift we give this season. And how appropriate is that?
If you still need some gift ideas, here’s a ‘top ten’ list of some of the things Jesus might want from us on His birthday.
- He may want our guilt, inviting us to give it to Him on His birthday and not carry it into 2018.
- He may want our fears. He already nailed them to the cross 2000 years ago and He is willing to take them from us every day.
- He may want our pride, because He loves us and wants to lift us up as we humble ourselves in His sight.
- He may want our plans and our deepest hopes, that in 2018 He may do more in us and through us than we would ever dare to ask or dream.
- He may want us to give to Him our broken relationships, that 2018 can be a year of healing and restoration.
- He may want our anxiety over financial concerns, career, and retirement, that He may truly be our Prince of Peace in 2018.
- He may want our health, that He may show Himself to be the Great Physician.
- He may want our discouragement and depression that He may restore in us the joy of our salvation.
- He may want our time, that He may lead us to invest it daily in work that has eternal value.
- He may want our growing cynicism over the state of the world, that He may remind us every day that He has overcome the world.
In the end, there is one certain thing Jesus wants from us for His birthday this year. He wants us completely surrendered to Him. He wants nothing held back. He wants us to live fearless, humble and generous lives. He wants us pursuing Him with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and pouring out our lives in service to one another.
Will you name whatever is keeping you from living that life, surrender it back to him, wrap it up and offer it this Christmas as your personal birthday present to the one who came that you might have life and have it in all its fullness?
Our gift from The Stewards Journey to you this Christmas is the encouragement to start this Christmas tradition for you and your family. My prayer is that on Christmas morning thousands of you will know an unexpected joy as you give your most expensive and precious gift to the lover of your soul. May that be your next step in your journey with Him as a faithful steward throughout the new year.
Merry Christmas!
P.S. We’ve created this download and printable card for you to use to write down your gift to Jesus on His birthday. I pray it’s the most precious gift you give on Christmas Day.
P.S.S. Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you believe it might bless.
