Nowadays, we are busy in thinking and buying of gifts to our loved ones. We also celebrate White Gift services, and hold gift-giving activities. All of these are part of the Christmas celebration. But have we ever thought of giving a present to the birthday celebrant — Jesus Christ? What is our gift to our Lord and Savior?
We can go back to the Gospels and learn from the Christmas story on what gifts we can give to Jesus.
Here are three gifts:
First, like the shepherds, let us give to Jesus the gift of obedience.
God has endowed us with freewill. This means that we have the freedom to choose whatever we want. Since the time of the Garden of Eden, we have the tendency to oftentimes follow our own will, and not God’s will.
Upon hearing the message of the angel, the shepherds obeyed the command and visited Jesus. This Christmas time, let us give to God our gift of obeying His commands.
Second, like the Wise Men, let us give to Jesus the gift of worship.
All throughout mankind’s history, we can see that every culture has some sort of a god that they worship. The Bible tells us that indeed there are many gods, lords, and kings that people have worshipped.
The Wise Men taught us to worship only the one true God who is Jesus Christ. We can read that upon giving the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, they worshipped Jesus. And yes, Jesus is the Lord of lords, and the King of kings.
Third, like Mary and Joseph, let us give to Jesus the gift of availability.
When angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her about being the chosen vessel, she accepted it and made herself available.
When an angel also appeared to Joseph, he also made himself available to be used by God.
One cannot imagine the pressure of being the parents of the Messiah. They have made a good job of being available for Jesus. As Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people.”
Let us be available for the Lord’s ministry. Jesus would be delighted of our gift of availability.
May God bless us all!
Sincerely,
Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
Director, Office of Communications
Central Philippine University
Director, Office of Communications
Central Philippine University