A Gift To You For Others: Third Thursday of Advent

"Hadn't we better take what we want and get out again?" said Edmund.
"We must take the Gifts," said Peter.
For long ago at a Christmas in Narnia he and Susan and Lucy had been given certain presents which they valued more than their whole kingdom.... They all agreed...and there, sure enough, the gifts were still hanging. Lucy's was the smallest for it was only a little bottle.
~ C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian, p23

It's pretty common for Christmas gift-giving to fall into familiar categories: the practical gifts like socks and underwear; the outrageously expensive gifts like an iPad or diamond earrings; the asked for gifts like that favorite book or album. But there's also some better categories: the thought-full gifts that reveal how much the giver knows and loves you; the enduring gifts that empower you to help others.

The gifts that Jesus received were for him, but they were also for others. The gold was for Jesus - an appropriate gift for a king. The Magi knew who this baby was, that he was born to rule, they knew what to give him. The gold empowered Jesus to care for his impoverished family. Within a few years they would need to flee their homeland and become refugees in Africa. The frankincense was for Jesus - it's what you give someone who's life will be a sacrifice. The ancient priests of Israel would burn incense along with the burnt offering of cowflesh to atone for the sins of the people. Jesus would become a gift that atones for our sins. The myrrh is what you give for someone who need to prepare for death. When the body is prepared for burial, myrrh is the powerful spice used to mask the decay and honor the dead.

The gifts that Father Christmas handed to Peter, Susan and Lucy were meant for them. But the gifts were also meant to empower them to help others. Peter and Susan were given gifts through which they could defend and protect others. They were given the tools that enabled them to stand strong in the face of adversity, to drive back those who would enslave and oppress, to set free those who were overpowered and burdened. Lucy was given a gift through which she could heal and revive the wounded. She was empowered to give new life and restored bodies back to families and friends.

The best gifts that our Father of the Heavens and Earth have given you empower you to love others deeply like Christ, forgive each other often, share generously, and find joy in each day for as long as you shall live. Sometimes what God gives us is the strength to stand up for others, to use our wit and words to push back those people and ideas that would burden and enslave. And God also gives us the ability to help other hearts heal, to walk with those whose bodies and souls are broken, to listen and to rehabilitate.

God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful...
1Corinthians 12:4-7 (The Message)

To those that believe, God gives us the Same Spirit of Jesus - a gift for us to enjoy, but mostly a gift through which He loves the world. This Christmas: Will you believe? Will you receive? Will you give? Will you love?