It seems like the older our children get the fewer Christmas gifts they actually want. My oldest actually told me, “I really don’t need anything this year. Being with family is enough for me.” The idea that you do not need a lot of “stuff” to be happy has certainly started rubbing off on them.
However, while their Christmas wish lists are by far much shorter than in years past, the items on those lists tend to be much more expensive. Gone are the days of the $1 Matchbox cars and coloring books or the inexpensive toys that one can pile high under the tree. Instead, their lists include things like digital book readers, music players or other electronic devices that have multiple uses. All of these have a rather large price tag. One could buy a hundred or so matchbox cars for the price of one of these items.
This phenomenon is not new. I remember such as I grew up and graduated from action figures to remote control cars to bikes and then to the motorized variety of bike that costs much more. Ironically, when we are much older, this phenomenon goes into reverse sort of. I cannot remember a single gift that my grandparents requested. If you would ask what they wanted they would say something like, “Just being able to give you all gifts and watch you enjoy them is enough of a gift for us.” They did not want anything. They did not need anything, except to know that their family loved and appreciated them, which we did. Of course, there is no more expensive gift than our love. I mean, what kind of price tag do you put on love?
In many ways this mimics our spiritual journey. As we move from spiritual infancy to established maturity, our faith depends less and less upon externals – the cheap things – and more and more on the intangible, often internal, fruits of spirituality – the attitudes and perspectives that are bought with a lifetime of spiritual endeavors. At the beginning of our journey, we may realize that Christ gave His life as a gift for us, which may compel us to worship and to attend various functions of the church and study the Scriptures. However, as we near that journey’s end, we come to realize that the greatest gift our Lord gave was the ability to give our lives back to Him in a complete and contrite way. It is a short list – one life – but an expensive one nonetheless that extends from the love we have in our hearts for the One Who died for us.
You see, the best gift you can give this year will not come in a package with a bow. It will come from your heart and reflect the image of the Son of God, as you lay down your life for others. You will not find it on the Black Friday shelves or in the digital world of Cyber Monday. Yet, it is always near in the hearts of men who have been touched by a great and loving God.
In this day, give those types of gifts that will give even unto eternity. Give the kinds of gifts that truly mean something. Give your kindness that says you have given your life to Christ. Give your smile that says I have been with the Savior today. Give your joy that says there is something much better beyond this world. Give yourself in service to mankind.
