December 29 - His Gift

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgement and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” - Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV

Over the Christmas weekend of festivities I was thinking how wonderful it is that we have this once a year opportunity to celebrate the birth of the Messiah, our Redeemer, the boy child, Jesus, and share the true meaning of Christmas with our communities. What other time of year do you see people of all ages and backgrounds, gathered together on the streets – complete strangers, smiling, talking, singing carols? People are openly receptive to hearing about the Gospel story – a story that ultimately speaks of the Plan of Salvation, and our redemption. Hearts are opened and gifts are given.

'Mary and Joseph were probably surprised at the appearance of Magi bearing gifts from a foreign land after their infant son Jesus was born. They weren’t expecting any guests; they hadn’t sent out any announcements. However, the proud heavenly Father had.

To the shepherds he sent angels in their field at night and to the Magi he sent a star. So, here they were to worship the new king and to offer three significant gifts. “And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)'

This Christmas period has seen the delivery of many babies born to proud parents. Typical gifts given to them have been flowers, balloons, teddy bears, layettes, gifts of money to begin a saving account for the child. But, gold, frankincense and myrrh? Not the usual baby gifts you would expect a child to receive today - in fact, even then they were not typical. They were actually prophetic gifts proclaiming the future of this divine baby.

Gold speaks of royalty and kingship of the Christ. To those who expected an earthly king He would prove disappointing but to those in tune with the kingdom of God He would be all they could ever hope for, and more.

Frankincense was fragrant anointing oil or incense that had been used in the Old Testament by the priests. Therefore, this costly gift spoke of the priestly office that Jesus would fulfill. Ultimately, he would represent us to the Father; His perfect sacrifice being Himself.

Finally, myrrh. Even more expensive than frankincense, it was often used as an embalming ointment. Myrrh foretold the death of Christ. Did Jesus’ earthly parents understand it all as they accepted the precious gifts?'

Christmas can be a controversial time among some Christians – some celebrate, others don't. The reason being that it originated as a pagan festival. It's true, the 25^th December is not the date of Christ's birth – we don't know when that took place. According to the Bible, when the angels announced Christ's birth to the shepherds, they were out in the fields, the hill country, watching their flocks. This indicates that the birth of our Lord was either in the early spring, March; or in autumn, September before the first frosts.

But, whenever – March, September or December. Christmas is the forerunner to Easter. Without Christmas and the birth of Christ there would be no Easter, no death and Resurrection of our Saviour, and no redemption. No hope of eternal life for us and our loved ones. For these reasons we celebrate. God gave us the greatest gift of all.

A new year is upon us, and as you meditate on the gifts of the Magi, remember how much His gift to us cost Him.

The music choice today is “Son of God” sung by Michael W. Smith. Thank you Bryn – a beautiful rendition. Click on the picture to listen.