I found myself at the mall last Tuesday – shopping for presents for my family. One of the nice things about working from home is that I can head out for the occasional jaunt to Starbucks or run some errands during the day. Somehow, everyone else seemed to have gotten the same memo: Go buy stuff at the mall. It was packed. People were crazy.
For a moment I stood in the middle of the walkway, between two little kiosks with the pushy sales people selling microwavable bags filled with rice and another one selling battery powered cigarettes. I wish there had been a camera up in the ceiling capturing the scene from above. It’s that time of year when we’re all buying stuff to give away to one another. That’s all part of the fun though, right?
Sort of. In that moment in the mall I looked up to the glass ceiling in the mall, up past the “happy holiday” signs, up to the clouds hanging in frosty winter air. I remembered for a moment, that this life isn’t all about me. I started asking myself why I was buying all this stuff. Somehow a set of expectations have been set in place that says we need to go spend a ton of money to buy stuff we don’t need to give away to friends and family who will in turn feel obligated to match our contribution in return. The truth is, I have everything that I need. I’ve got enough to pay my bills, and a family who loves me. I’ve got a warm house and no lack of food or clothes. I don’t need anything.
Don’t get me wrong – I love Christmas. We’re celebrating the entrance of Jesus Christ into this world – a gift from God that changed my life. So the question is: since it’s His birthday, should we not give to Him instead of making wish lists for ourselves? It’s certainly not my birthday.
So enough with my saga, and to the point. If any of this resonates with you, let’s do something a little radical. Let’s figure out about how much we spend on each of our family members for Christmas – and do something with that money to represent your gift to the Christ of Christmas. By all means, give gifts in love to your family and friends… but do something specifically to say thank you to celebrate Jesus. Buy warm jackets for some homeless kids. Sponsor a child in a 3rd world country with food, medicine, and education. Pay for the elderly person’s groceries in front of you in line next time you’re at the supermarket. You pick. Just do it selflessly and in joy.
I guarantee it will be the absolute best gift you’ll give – and receive this year.
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Galatians 4