The Gift

Christmas is coming - again. Are you excited? Is it your favourite festival of the year? It is for me. There's just something about Christmas, innit. It could be the lights, the (non-existent on this side of the globe) snow, the gifts, the food, the songs. Whatever it is, there's just something that makes Christmas so different from every other festival that mankind celebrates throughout the year.

Every year, I am always faced with the question of "What is Christmas?" And I haven't actually thought about it - until today. I was sitting in church paying half attention to the speaker. My mind was flitting in and out of the hall. But the speaker started talking about how one would show Christmas kindness and to whom. The obvious answers were to orphans and old folks. What do you give them? Food to eat, clothes to wear, toys to play. Simple enough, no? And then he asked us if these things are really what they want. The honest answer is no, it's not. What they want is not material things or daily necessities. What they want is love and family.

The speaker had mentioned something about gifts. When I actually think about it, I can't remember what I got last Christmas or the Christmas before last. And quite frankly, if I can't remember it, I sure don't know where it is right now. The gifts that we get mean something to us when we get it. But after that, it just gets misplaced or unused. What we place value on today may lose all value tomorrow. I may think that I want this thing and I need it, for whatever reason. But if I were to be absolutely honest with myself, I don't really need it. I just want it. And if I were to really look at what I have, I would realize that I have more than enough. I just need to learn to be content and know the difference between what I want and what I need.

And then there are gifts that you get for people. What is a gift, really? It's an expression of your love, as I heard today. It shows that you care for someone enough to take the time and effort to buy them something, and not just anything, but something that you've given a lot of thought to. I think of all the gifts that I could give the people I love. And you could buy so many things. But I doubt they will need any of them. Only the world makes it seem as if we need to have this or that.

But there is one gift that is always there for the taking every year. It's THE gift. The one that everyone needs (although not everyone realizes it), the one that lasts, the one that you won't misplace or leave unused. Christmas is not about stuffed turkeys, mince pies, carols, Santa Claus, presents and whatever else you may associate with it. It is a time for people to stop and look back on the year. It makes you think of what you've done in the past year and ultimately, what you're doing in life. For some, it's a time to find THE gift. For others, it's a time to remember what makes the gift THE gift. Do you have it? It's there for the taking. Open it, unwrap it, take it.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23