When we think of giving gifts, we also think of the money they cost. But the greatest gifts you can give at Christmas do not cost money, but the giving of ourselves. Such gifts are priceless and are not given once a year but throughout the year and all of life.
It is significant that the great book of Hebrews, which is a treasure of gifts for God’s people under the New Covenant, concludes with a list of gifts which cost no money but the giving of ourselves:
- THE GIFT OF CONTINUAL LOVE – Verse 1, “Keep on loving each other as brothers.” Chuck Swindol says, Love is not a theory or a creed to recite but a life to live. Taking the four letters in LOVE, please note that “L” stands for Listening, “O” means to overlook the faults of those we love, “V” means to value a person highly, and “E” means to express love to others.” Have you given this gift to many this Christmas?
- THE GIFT OF HOSPITALITY – Verse 2, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have entertained angels.” We think of hospitality as entertaining our friends, especially at Christmas, but the word actually means, “Love for strangers,” (Philoszenos) which means to reach out to others different from you, break the racial, social, intellectual barrier. Have you, will you?
- THE GIFT OF COMMISERATION – Verse 3, “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners and the mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” This is a command for us not just to sympathize to those in deep trouble but to put ourselves in their shoes. Just think if you were shut up in prison on Christmas day, or you were divorced, or broke, or dying with terminal cancer, or overtaken in a sexual scandal, etc. I suggest if possible visit a jail or prison. Knowing of an African American lady in deep depression, Doris and I invited her and her family of five to have lunch with us on Sunday, December 27th.
- THE GIFT OF PURITY – Verse 4, “Marriage is honorable in all and the bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer (sexual intercourse after marriage), and fornicator (sexual immorality before marriage). What greater gift can I give my wife, my children, my students, my neighbors, my church, my world than to offer to them a sexually pure life? Suppose you are planning marriage, what is the greatest gift you can give your finance? Sexual purity, absolute virginity. Christmas is the high tide of drinking, carousing, and sexual immorality. What a Scandal, what a Mockery of the celebration of the birth of our Savior from the Virgin Mary. Listen Men: Think of Joseph’s restraint in the area of sex. Though espoused to Mary and destined to be her husband shortly, he nevertheless took her as his “wife” to be , and lived with her before the actual marriage, but “knew” her not. Let the record speak to your soul, me, “Joseph took Mary home as his wife, but he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son” (Matthew 1:24-25).
- THE GIFT OF FREEDOM OVER MATERIALISM – Verse 5, “Keep yourself free from the love of materialism.” Material things are King at Christmas time as shown by the expenditure of $200,000,000,000 in Christian trappings each year. I read that “Americans in 2009 will have the Biggest Christmas they have ever charged.” How can we avoid becoming materialist at Christmas? Be sure to put God first in mission giving at Christmas. Let your largest gift go for the gospel. You might say, “Then I would have nothing left for my children.” Doris and I have given our largest gift to missions for 40 years, and God has always provided all we needed to give sufficient gifts to each other, our kids, family, and friends.
- THE GIFT OF CONTENTMENT – Verse 6, “Be content with what you have, because God has said, Never, Never will I leave you, and never will I forsake you.” There is record discontentment at Christmas. Why? Because people get so busy celebrating Christmas that they forget the One’s birthday they are celebrating. As Pastor I discovered that even the faithful members of my churches were so spiritually exhausted after Christmas that it took them a solid month to recuperate and in some cases they never recovered at all. Remember one thing and never forget: “God has made us for Himself, and we are restless until we find our REST in Him” ( Augustine in his Confession) through prayer and internalization of the Word.
- THE GIFT OF SUBMISSION – Verses 7, 17, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority.” In the government of God, everyone is subject to someone else. Children to parents, students to teachers, church members to their pastors, wives to their husbands. And there is nothing more beautiful and inspiring than to see a father with his family who is under the control of the Holy Spirit – especially at Christmas time. What a glorious spectacle to behold as we see other families vanishing away in America.
- THE GIFT OF SEPARATION AND SANCTIFICATION – Verse 14, “Let us go to Him outside of the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.” : There are 23 families on my street and every Christmas I deliver to them a special written greeting from me and Doris and give gifts to those close around. In the meantime I pray that I may live my life before them to the glory of Christ. But WOW – I want to be a good neighbor but it is hard to be a part of the “partying” on my street. I see cars lined up for two blocks at times but I am never invited. But this year I was invited to a special pre-Christmas celebration about two blocks down the street with one request: “Bring your drink with you.” What do you think I did? What would you do?
- THE GIFT OF THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE CONTINUALLY – Verse 15, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips, that confess His Name.” I find no greater gift to give than that of a cheerful, victorious and praising spirit. Remember that both “Life and death are in the power of the tongue” (Prov. 18:21). And we should not speak a single word to anyone that will not build them up (Ephes. 4:29). Christmas is the time of all times to praise the Lord. Are you doing so?
- THE GIFT OF PRAYER – Verse 18, “Pray for us.” As Paul (who wrote Hebrews I believe) concluded the great epistle to the Hebrews, he simply made this request. Suppose someone rolled a Mercedes Benz into your driveway on Christmas Eve and said, “Here is your Christmas gift,” you would never enjoy the car because you would die immediately of a heart attack. But just suppose you survived the shock and got to drive the “King of Cars.” Yes, great and exciting, but that car would not bring to your life the benefits you really need to live the abundant life. Only prayer will do that, and the greatest gift you could give to your wife, children, anyone would be to pray earnestly, fervently and believingly for them (James 5:16). : I had a humble, poor man in my first church. I shall never forget him. His last name was Wilkes. He never gave me a material gift, and I certainly never expected him to do so. But one day at church, he said to me, “Pastor, I don’t have anything to give to the church, all I can do is to pray for you.” What do you think I said? “Brother Wilkes, though you have no money, you are giving me the greatest gift you could ever give – just praying for me.” Can you give this gift at Christmas time to hundreds who are not really living but just “existing?” If so, one day when you get to heaven, you will be so glad that not only did you make it, but many of those you prayed for will there to welcome you (Luke 16:9).
Have you or will you give these 10 gifts at Christmas? It takes no money to do so, but simply yourselves surrendered to Jesus, and really loving and caring for those for whom He died. This is the Real Christmas – and the Prelude to a Happy New Year, even if you have no money.