A WISE MAN'S GIFT

At Christmas time one of our biggest jobs is to decide what gifts to give to whom. How many hours have I spent in futile shopping for something for Uncle John and Aunt Martha--only to settle for something that is not really "just right" at the last minute because time is so short. If I find it so hard to get gifts for the people around me, what would it be like if I would put Jesus on my gift list and actually get a gift for Him? I wonder?

What shall I give Him for Christmas? What would He like -- the babe in the manger? Would a nice shiny rattle be all right? or maybe a cuddly little furry doll? Or how about a little star to hang above His crib -- no, that wouldn't do -- He already has one that would surely outshine mine. The drummer-boy played Him a tune, and the shepherds gave Him a lamb, so I guess the furry doll is out. What can I give Him? I guess it will have to be the rattle, something bright and noisy. Won't it be fun to watch Him coo and gurgle and play with it? Oh, how happy His mother must be to have such a beautiful child? To hold Him and nurse Him and share her life and love with Him -- how happy she must be!

No, not really. His mother was told that a sword would pierce her heart and that her son would be hated and spoken against. Once a woman cried out to Jesus, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!" (Luke 11:27; RSV). None of us would buy a baby gift for the Christ child today. There is no Christ child. There only was a Christ child. If in our minds we keep Jesus as a helpless baby in a crib, we are only showing our reluctance to meet the living Christ. No, this is not a wise gift for the Christ.

I know, I shall give him gold. A large gift of money, for which I have labored long. Once a Wise-man gave Him such a gift. And it was useful, too. The holy family likely used the gold to finance their headlong escape into Egypt as they fled the threat of the murderous Herod. Yes, but the hatred and jealousy of Herod was aroused by the very inquiries the Wise-men made in Jerusalem. If they had gone directly to Bethlehem, there would have been no need to alarm the court and arouse the jealous wrath of Herod. So, really, their gift of gold, though used by God, was in a measure, a gift of atonement, not purely a gift to God. No, gold is not the proper gift to give the King. Truly, all the gold, money, tithes and offerings we give today are not actually given to God, for He doesn't need them. As we give in Christ's name we find that our gifts are used for projects both worthy and unworthy. Some are used to relieve the needs of the poor, but distressingly often they go to feed the pride of the rich. At times money will help to heal from disease, proclaim the good news, but may be used by false prophets to line their own nests. Gifts are given to reduce our income tax, and very often so given overtax the limits of our honesty. God supplies the needs of His saints through the giving of His other saints -- but we cannot really say that our money is given to God. Moreover, God warns us of the deceitfulness of riches and the bondage of wealth, of the difficulty of the rich entering heaven, and the temptations of those who are so greedy that they lie to the Holy Spirit. Poverty is not free from sin, but many of the temptations to rely upon their wealth the rich have, are lacking to those who have no wealth. And even gifts to the poor can demean rather than lift up. No, I cannot give a gift of gold to the King who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the gold in every mine. I can only give it to others in His Name, and pray that they will use it well.

Luxurious gift? –

What of a gift of pure luxury? a cruse of pure frankincense, such as another Wise-man gave long ago -- a precious, sweet-smelling incense that added aroma to many of the sacrifices, especially the cereal offerings on God's altar. Yes, frankincense, that mystic gum of Africa, which mixed with other spices, was offered on its own special altar to send forth fragrance like the prayers of the people into the very presence of God. Wouldn't this be a wise gift to give to Jesus, the King?

Ah, but who smells the aroma of burning incense? Is it not we ourselves? And what does incense signify in sacrifice, but a symbol of what is offered to God from greater depths -- the unfathomable well of our hearts? The prophets truly said that God hates those sacrifices offered from unloving, disobedient, uncommitted hearts. No matter how perfect the outward form, how rich the offering, how majestic the ceremony, how silent the worshipers -- God does not smell the incense, but inspects the innermost desires of our hearts. He does not rejoice in the butchering of beasts, but rather in the death of what is bestial in man. The lifting of hands toward Him is meaningless without the lifting of hearts. "What does the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" As sweet as frankincense is, it is not the perfect gift to give to the high priest of God -- the man Jesus.

Another Wise-man gave myrrh. Could I not emulate him and give this unusual spice? But how strange to give to a baby, a balsam most commonly used to prepare a body for burial! Could this have been one of the portents that was heavy on Mary's heart? the burial of Christ was more crucial to God's plan that was His birth. Curtis Dickinson once pointed out: "We celebrate the birthdays of famous men not by displaying their baby pictures, but by portraying them at the height of their maturity and by calling to remembrance their greatest accomplishments" (Witness, December 1969). Such is the picture of myrrh -- for the cross always stands near the manger. It was in the death of Jesus that His moment of greatest accomplishment for us was made. He died for our sins, and made permanent the eternal love of God in a once-for-all sacrifice. If the death of Jesus for us is insufficient to atone for man's sin, then no other way is possible.

But myrrh was a suitable gift for the Christ child; for it was also a chief ingredient in the anointing oil used to anoint priests, prophets, and kings of old. And Jesus Christ is the anointed one, the Messiah, the high priest after the order of Melchizedek, the prophet like unto Moses, the king of the house of David who will reign forever on His throne. Yes, myrrh is a suitable gift for a king, for it foretells the enormous gifts He returns to us. We give a magnum of myrrh -- He gives us forgiveness forever, an open door through Christ into the inner sanctum of Heaven, an adoption into the family of God, and a home in heavenly places. But have we really "given" anything? No, we have only received! This is the dilemma of Christians. No matter what we determine to "give" to God we are always receiving much more. As we search the New Testament we find innumerable gifts God gives to us, but what in the Bible is given to God? Only glory, honor, reverence, fear, adoration, and most of all, thanks! These are all that we can give.

And these are all that we can give to the Son of God -- the risen Christ who now sits on the throne of glory, supervising the work of the Spirit until He shall return to conquer the one who sought to destroy Him. Jesus met death and conquered it. He was raised from the dead for our justification -- that is, for our eternal righteousness. He will continue to reign in the hearts of all who obey and believe Him from the heart and joyfully await His coming. He will return as the ruler of all creation and every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess Him at His coming.

Jesus Christ is alive. He is with us, a living presence to impart hope, to forgive sins, to take away loneliness and reconcile us to God. What can I give Christ this Christmas? I can only receive Him as Lord of my life and Master of my heart. I can give Him this -- the only gift worthy of His love.

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