Christmas Giving

Scenes of the Christmas season that make me uneasy are uniformed guards in private subdivisions brandishing or jiggling a Christmas gift box with a huge slit.

Their thought balloon, It's Christmas, this is where you put your cash gift. 

Beside their security post is a huge gift-wrapped box with an open top. 

Their thought balloon, It is Christmas, this is where you put your gifts in kind.
 

On my way to and from work, I pass through about five villages. So I see the same disturbing scenes ten times every day—I assume they will be there till the end of the season. 

The idea of “Christmas giving” has been rammed down our throats by marketers and now it runs in our blood stream. 

The first Christmas was pure grace and indeed “giving” of the highest order. Jesus was born as a Gift to man so that by inviting Him into our heart, we receive the gift of everlasting life.

But over the years, we have interpreted “Christmas giving” our own way to excite and delight no one but us. I pray that we focus on the One who gave His all and therefore demonstrated the true essence of “giving.”