W2W 12 Days of Christmas Day 11
W2W Blog – Inspiring women to fall in love with Jesus
On the 11th day of Christmas my First Love gave to me:
The best gift ever
There may be a few followers of the W2W Christmas blog missing today and that’s because you are still out there fighting your way through the shops looking for that perfect last minute gift. You know who you are and sorry gentlemen, but you are statistically known as the last minute shoppers. So you only have two more shopping day’s left so you had better get a move on and wrap up as storm Barbara is on her way. I will let you into a private joke, every time my husband asks me what I want for Christmas I reply by singing the Mariah Carey song to him “All I want for Christmas is you”. Now it isn’t because I am being romantic, instead I am trying to see if he will come up with something special without being told what to get. I will let you know how that one goes!!
Anyway today’s instalment is of course in regard to the gifts given by the Maji. The Maji are often known as the Wise Men or the Three Kings, however their exact details are not fully known. They were men of learning and of discovery and these wise astrologers certainly made a discovery on this starry night. “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh”. (Matthew 2v11)
They were wise as they recognised that this baby was no ordinary child and their display of worship indicated that they knew they were truly in the presence of royalty.
Just look at their gifts, they win hands down in the gift giving contest. Gold, a precious valuable commodity that would have helped fund Mary and Joseph for some time. That’s why today we also give monetary gifts to fund churches and ministries as they serve God in sharing his message of salvation throughout the world. Gold was also symbolic of divinity and this proved that these wise men knew that this young child was in fact God in flesh. Myrrh was believed to strengthen children and was used in ancient times as embalming and healing oil. Today we need to strengthen our children and those children known to us. Teaching and encouraging our future generations so that they grow in truth and love. Finally, frankincense was incense used for worship. They bowed down to worship Jesus. God desires our worship not just on special occasions like Christmas and Easter but throughout the year. The Maji gave extravagant gifts because they knew whom it was they were worshipping.
However God doesn’t expect anything from us. In fact the ultimate truth is, there is nothing that we can bring Jesus that is worth more than what he has given us. He is the true gift giver as he gave his life for us so that we may know true love.
So have you received this free gift of everlasting love? If so then you, like the wise men, will want to extravagantly worship him.
I don’t know what it is you really want for Christmas. But I know what God wants and all he wants for Christmas is you. So his gift to you is Jesus, as he is the way, the truth and the life (john 14:6). It’s all for you. It’s all because of his love for you. “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John3:16)
ON THE 11TH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY FIRST LOVE GAVE TO ME:
THE BEST GIFT EVER
