Choosing a Better Gift

“Christmas means ‘giving,’ and the gift without the giver is bare. 

Give of yourselves; give of your substance; give of your heart and mind.”  Gordon B. Hinckley

 Recently, I was surprised to learn that not only does Elon Musk own Tesla and now Twitter but he even sells perfume…and not just any perfume. Elon Musk sells “Burnt Hair Perfume"; it’s advertised as the “essence of repugnant desire.” No, this is not a gag gift or a White Elephant Gift. The perfume is meant to smell like your head is on fire. But if you want to buy a bottle for your one true love, you’ll have to wait until next Christmas. 30,000 bottles, which sold at $100 a pop, were completely sold out. 

  Are you like me? Do you struggle each Christmas to find just the right gifts for those you love? Did you venture out on Black Friday to find this year’s hot gift, hoping that it was still in stock?

  There are some Christmas gifts that everyone needs and you don’t have to shop for them. They’re so basic and so longed for, yet too often overlooked. Here are some “hot gifts” that are always needed.

  Give grace. Christmas tends to bring out our inner Hallmark, yet it’s a sin-filled world where lots of bad stuff happens. To add to that many of us come from broken families or there’s fragmentation in our current one. For many, it’s “The Nightmare before Christmas.” Our parents may be divorced or not getting along. Our children, even adult ones, are divided. Perhaps a loved one died this past year leaving an empty space at the table. Many have been invited to a dysfunctional family situation to “celebrate.” All the gifts in the world won’t put a nice bow on that trainwreck.  

  Yet, the real Christmas is not about what is happening but because of what has happened. That first Christmas was far from perfect. Humanly speaking, it was a disaster. Mary and Joseph are away from home because the government wanted more tax money. Then, Bethlehem was more crowded than a mall on Christmas Eve. The only place where Mary could give birth to her baby was a dirty stable.

  But that happening changed everything. It’s why the angels announced to some poor shepherds that there was “peace on earth” because the Prince of Peace had come. Life on this messed up world would never be the same.

  This year instead of being disappointed because your family looks more like the McCallisters’ from Home Alone fame than Tiny Tim’s, or because of irreconcilable differences the family won’t be together, or because of the economy there are fewer gifts and a smaller meal, remember that’s not what Christmas is about. It’s not about what’s happening. Christmas is about what happened 2,000 years ago when the promised Messiah came.

  Give love. We, humans, tend to give what we’re given. If we don’t receive love, we often don’t give it. We treat others the way we’re treated.

  Yet, if you’ve experienced God’s love, if you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, then you’ve personally experienced undeserved love. As the hymn goes: “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean.” Every believer who looks in the mirror has that same question – How could Jesus love me? We know ourselves. We know how unworthy we are. We know how unworthy we are of His sacrifice on the cross for us. But still He came and still He went to the cross. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” As God has given love to us, we are to give love to others…no strings attached.

  We are to love our families. It doesn’t matter if you had the worst father and mother of all time – you’re still to love them. Even if your spouse mistreats you, you’re still to love them. That sibling who’s been cruel and mean to you as long as you can remember…yes, you’re to love them, too.  

  We are to love our spiritual family. It doesn’t matter if someone is Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Non-Denominational, or Catholic – if they’ve committed their lives to Christ and are trusting Him as the only way to heaven (John 14:6), they’re brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to love them. There is no place for a “holy war” in God’s family. It doesn’t matter if they’re from a different ethnic group or of a different political persuasion. Economically, we may have nothing in common. None of that matters because it’s level ground at the foot of the cross.

  In what was known as the “love feast” in the church at Corinth, there were those from every tribe and nation. Slaves and masters, Jews and Gentiles ate side by side. The Bible says that if we say we love God and don’t love our brother or sister, then we’re liars (1 John 4:20-21). You simply can’t love God and not love your brothers and sisters in Christ.

  We are to love our enemies. We are only asked to do what our Lord did when He prayed, “Father forgive them” from the cross. Over a dozen times the Bible commands us to love our enemies.

  The first fruit of the Spirit is love. God intends for us to be channels of His love even to those who hate us. He never promised it would be easy. He did though promise us grace to obey His command and love them.

  In his book How Small a Whisper, Roger Carswell relates an amazing story of a Christian family's response to tragedy. In May 1987, 39 American seamen were killed in the Persian Gulf when an Iraqi pilot hit their ship, the USS Stark, with a missile. Newspapers carried a picture of the son of one of these seamen, a shy five-year-old boy, John Kiser. He was standing with his hand on his heart as his father's coffin was loaded onto a plane to take him back to the U.S.A.

  His mother said, “I don't have to mourn or wear black, because I know my husband is in heaven. I am happy, because I know he is better off."

  Later on, she and young John sent a letter and an Arabic New Testament to the pilot of the Iraqi plane, addressed to: “The man who attacked the Stark, Dad's ship, in the hope that it will show that even the son and the wife do not hold any grudge and are at the same time praying for the one who took the life of our father.” How is such love possible? It’s from the God of love, the One who sent His Son as the first Christmas gift.

  I wouldn’t buy Burnt Hair perfume, yet we can give gifts that everyone wants and needs. Let’s give grace and let’s give love! It’s because of what has happened that God has called us to do for others what He did for us. 

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.