Giving the Perfect Gift

In the chaos of the Christmas season, it is easy to get a little too focused on gifts.  We invest our time asking the right questions, doing our research, planning our shopping trips and browsing online in hopes of finding just the perfect gift for our loved ones.  We make our lists and check them much more than twice.  We even try to have coordinating gift wrap to make everyone feel extra special.  And personally, I love gifts!  Receiving a gift speaks directly to my heart.  It is one of my “love languages” to borrow Gary Chapman’s term.  And I think because I love receiving gifts so much, it gives me even more pleasure to be on the giving end.

One of my most precious Christmas memories was when I was five years old.  At school that year in kindergarten, we were instructed to make a present for someone using clay, our fingers, and paint (my first craft!).  I made a tiny plain-looking bowl that I painted green. I even drew my initials in the back (in very small letters).  I remember how excited I was to present this special gift to my mother on Christmas.  My first very own gift to give.  I remember vividly that my mom cried which made me cry and I didn’t even understand why we were crying (possibly because of my sad crafting skills).  But nothing can compare to the feeling of giving a gift that touches someones heart.  My mom still uses that bowl even today.

In thinking about giving this year, it occurred to me what gift could I possibly give to Christ?  He is the creator of the universe.  He already has everything we could imagine and more.  Talk about a tough one to shop for!  What possible gift could I give?  I read a passage of scripture this last week that completely answered my question.  I’d like to share it with you from The Message Bible.

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you:  Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering [a gift].  Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.  Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God.  You’ll be changed from the inside out.  Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it.  Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” ~ Romans 12:1 – 2

The gift our Savior wants from us is just that – us. He wants our hearts and minds.  Willing hearts that desire a close relationship with Him.  Our very lives can be placed before God as an offering.  As we allow Him to work in us, to change us from the inside out, He can use each of us in our own everyday, ordinary lives for something far greater.  He desires our obedience to His guidance and protection.  He wants us to be burdened for those in this world who have yet to experience His amazing grace and love.  And in a world filled with chaos and depravity, He longs for us to keep our focus on Him.  We can give Him the perfect gift when we surrender our hearts and minds to him.  (To read more about fully surrendering your heart, consider reading Christ’s Simple Plan.)

This month of giving is a great opportunity for each of us to spend a little extra time in scripture and allow His words to remind us of the amazing love of our Savior.  With thanksgiving and praise in our hearts, we will remember that He is the greatest gift of all, a gift that we should share with others.

This advent season as we celebrate Christ’s coming into the world, please consider adding an advent reading plan to your Christmas season (I have included a list of some below).  It can help redirect our focus to why Christmas should be a marvelous celebration.

My prayer is that we give our hearts fully to Christ.  That we lay our everyday, ordinary lives at His feet and allow Him to use us for His glory.  That even among the chaos and the gift giving at Christmas, we remember that Jesus is the greatest gift of all.  And He is definitely a gift worth sharing!

Merry Christmas!