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Epiphany: Why we give gifts

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Lately, I have been thinking about why we do the things we do.  Just like when we light the advent wreath, it symbolizes Love, Peace and Joy. Often, there is meaning even when we don’t realize it.
If you want to read the Advent blog, you can click here to catch up.
Love, Peace, and Joy are gifts Jesus gives us at his birth. But if you think about it, why do we give gifts at Christmas? Today, we are going to unwrap a few more gifts and see if we can figure it out.
Matthew 2:1 says; “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
The Magi were indeed wise men. They knew the baby was not going to become king, he was born king of the Jews. The moment I read the words, “king of the Jews,” my mind jumped to the sign that hung over Jesus’ head as He hung on the cross for us all. Everything has meaning with God.
But those wise men, they knew things. Whether they had an epiphany or a revelation, they were excited enough to follow that star. And with their excitement, they brought gifts, but they also brought the gift of praise for the King of Kings.
Verses 9-11 reads, “the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 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. “

First they praised and worshipped him. Then they presented him the gifts. These were not random gifts that had been lying around. Each gift has significance.

 

The Gifts of the Magi

 

1. “Gold is a precious metal that has been used for jewelry, ornaments, currency, and idols throughout human history because of its color and shine.

2. Frankincenseis an expensive fragrance or perfume made from trees in India and Arabia.

3. Myrrh is a specific kind of costly perfume made from rare thorn bushes in Arabia and Ethiopia that is used as an antiseptic anointing oil and embalming fluid.”

 

The Magi came with high praise, sacrificing their time and safety and presented gifts, all of which represented the honor due a king. They wanted to see him, bow down and worship him with their gifts and their presence.

They were not giving to get. They had no requests, needs or even wants to ask. They only came to praise and honor Him. What a reminder for me. So often, I come before God with my laundry list of needs, requests and worries. When do I come just to worship God? Maybe I need to ask some different questions. Instead of “why do we give gifts”, maybe I should think about “what I can give Him”?

 

Just like the Magi gave these extravagant gifts, God gives us good gifts everyday. On Sunday, we will celebrate the original Epiphany, when the wise men knew the king had been born. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look deeper into Epiphany and the gifts it has to offer us. The birth of Jesus was only the beginning, the first revelation of who Jesus is. But there is more to come

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Father God, forgive me when I come wanting. Forgive me for always looking for what you can do for me. Help me to right my heart so that I may come to you with praise and worship . Teach me to give the most extravagant gifts to you, to give my all to you, for you gave everything to me. Thank you that you never give up on me. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

P.S. Leave me a comment below because I always love hearing from you. Forward this message to a friend or post it on Facebook. Until next time, think about what you can give God? How you can worship Him today?. -M

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