Extravagant Giving

I love Christmas. I love giving gifts. I hate people who think that Christmas is too commercial and we should just stop giving gifts and return to the "true" meaning of Christmas. Do you know why? Because the true meaning of Christmas is about the most extravagant gift ever given. I'm not talking about the gold, frankincense and myrrh. I'm talking about Jesus.

Thankfully, Jesus did not come from Santa. He came from God, or else everything I believe in would be a bunch of elfin magic!! Do we really ever grasp how amazing, precious, perfect and extravagant the gift of God's son was? Would we ever in a million years have thought to ask for something so outrageous as the Son of God, who would offer Himself a living sacrifice for our sins so that we might spend eternity with God in heaven? I'm not sure I would have had the guts to ask for something so audacious. So humbling. So ridiculous. And truthfully, I can't imagine Christmas without giving.

The act of giving for me is in part a remembrance that nothing I have has come without a price, including my salvation. When I give, it encourages me to put someone else ahead of my wants, my desires and think outside of myself. It brings me out of my little cozy cocoon and into the world of others, the world that Christ wants me to see. I think it's so important to teach my kids this same act of giving, of choosing to think about the person we are giving to and understanding that in our giving we need to have an attitude of gratitude, not pride.

I would just not enjoy Christmas as much without the aspect of giving it affords me. I'm not going all consumer mania or anything. We do Christmas on a budget and we set limits, but we are also quite thoughtful about what we choose to give. If unbelievers choose to participate in the gift giving at Christmas, how harmful can that be? If anything, it's a bridge to illustrating what a gift we have in the person of Christ. It's a connection that at some point might be made in their hearts. Exceeding abundant, beyond all that we could ask or even think. That's what the first gift of Christmas really was and is. And it's ours to share with His world.