Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Why do we give gifts at Christmas? Have you ever really stopped and thought about it? In Matthew 2, we see the Wise Men giving Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh. As Christians, we show love to our family and friends by giving gifts as well.

In the story above we are reminded that “stuff” is not always the best gift for those we love. Often it is our time. Time can be the hardest gift to give. It makes us give up something of ourselves in order to be there for our friends or family. We may want to be out playing, but we need to be washing clothes for the elderly person down the road. We may want to spend the night with our best friend when another friend needs us to go somewhere so they don’t have to do it alone.

As we enter into this Christmas season, we also need to make sure we don’t just give gifts to get gifts. It may be there is a need in someone’s life that we can help meet. It may be as simple as being there when they need someone to talk to, or they may need to purchase clothing or pay a bill. Only God knows what the perfect gift for each person is, so make sure you pray about each person you are gifting and be open to the Holy Spirit’s leading. In our family some Christmases the money was so tight we could not afford to purchase gifts for everyone. We made something special for each person. It’s funny, but some of the people we made them for still talk about those gifts. They never mention the ones we went to the store to purchase.

If you think about it, Who better to direct your decisions in gifts than God? After all, He loved us so much he sent the perfect Gift! He sent his Son, Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Activity

Pass out candy canes and wish people a Merry Christmas. Attach a card with the Legend of the Candy Cane printed on it.