The Perfect Gift

One of the hardest things for me to do at this time is to select the perfect gift. My mom and dad are hard to buy for. If they need it they get it - if they don’t need it they don’t want it. Lori's gift will be easy this year because she informed me that she already bought herself something in New York. (Sounds like a set up!) Then there are the kids. Their list changes daily. What are we supposed to do?

The first Christmas was all about the perfect gift. Matthew records that the Magi opened their treasures and presented Jesus with gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. I wish I knew more about these Wiseman. All I really know is that they came from the east and placed a lot of stock in astrology. They saw the star and seemingly were the only ones outside of the shepherds that recognized the significance. They traveled to Bethlehem to worship.

Through their gifts we realize how much they must have understood about this baby. You see, the gift of gold is for royalty. Jesus is the King of Kings. He deserves the gift of kings. The gift of incense is for Deity. The incense was a sweet aroma during sacrifice and worship. It also represented the prayers ascending to God. (Now the Word had become flesh!) The last gift of myrrh showed an insight that Israel had a difficult time understanding. Myrrh was an expensive product used to prepare the dead. At this time, "Black Friday" was already in mind. Jesus came to be the suffering lamb of God. I believe the Magi were very wise in their gifts.

No matter how wise the Magi were in their gifts we still haven't said anything about the perfect gift. The perfect gift has nothing to do with the Magi's presents, as appropriate as they were. The perfect gift was the child that God gave to us.

December 10, 2008