G is for GIFT

In the last month I have received two CDs that I didn't expect to get. After all, it wasn't my birthday or any other special occasion. It was simply a way of two friends expressing their kindness without either expecting anything in return. I have enjoyed both immensely but more so because not only did I not have to buy them but because of the spirit in which they were given. I guess both had given a little thought to their present as the artists involved are two of my favourites. How nice it is when we give some consideration to the appropriateness of the gifts we buy. It won't be long before the whole cycle of Christmas spending gets underway. My goodness, we are only in mid-November and the Christmas lights are already being turned on this week in some of our local towns. I'm sure, in amongst the presents I'll get will be a pair of socks, a tie or a set of handkerchiefs and while the intentions of the giver are, I'm sure, honourable, like a million other men, socks, ties and hankies are an easy option and dare I say it, one that requires less thought than other presents.

My wife once bought for me a 'hot key' at Christmas. It was a sort of stocking filler because she had given a lot of thought to the other gifts I received on Christmas morning but the hot key puzzled me, just a little. On closer inspection I discovered that a 'hot key' is device that one thrusts into a frozen lock on a winter morning of ice and frost, melting the offending solid and allowing entry to be gained to the vehicle. There was a small battery compartment behind a protruding piece of metal and not much else. Initially it presented two problems. First, these things take ages to get hot enough in order to do their job. I could imagine standing outside the car on a frosty morning at half past seven, waiting for my hot key to reach working temperature. Secondly, since we only get such mornings on a few occasions each year, the hot key was going to be redundant for most of its time on my key ring and the batteries would run down, so that when the next frost arrived, my hot key had no power! So, despite my grateful thanks, the hot key still remains in its package, ready for use.

At school, I went through an adult / adolescent stage where all my ties were funny. By this stage I was a teacher and the children in my class saw the funny side even if some of the adults wondered at times. I had Disney ties, Pink Panther ties, Cartoon ties, ties covered in apples, animals, footballs, Homer Simpson, flags, dollar notes, even the Lone Ranger. So for a couple of Christmases, almost every pupil in my class bought me a funny tie as a present. They all had Santa or reindeers or a Christmas scene emblazoned down the front in the brightest of colours and to cap it all, most had a little button to press so that the tie would play a Christmas tune or carol. I found myself wearing a different tie throughout the winter just so every child who had bought one could see it on their teacher. After a while, the battery power faded and I used to get great delight in pressing all the ties at the same time and hearing all the mingled tunes waning, like a cat uttering its last meaow. But at ;east the children had thought about their giving and bought something that was appropriate. Why, one mother, acutely aware of my expanding collection, presented me with a light green tie with the words 'not another tie' stretching in turquoise letters down its length.

Thinking of gifts at Christmas is important, ensuring that we give appropriately and with thought so that the receiver wants the gift and uses it to help them in some way. Strangely, that's why socks, ties and handkerchiefs can be very suitable, especially later in the year, regardless of how we consider them at the time.

And it is fitting to think about our giving of gifts because when God thought about the gifts that He could give to us, He chose the one thing that He probably didn't want to give away but because of His love for us, He chose the gift of His Son. In doing so, He could have picked nothing more appropriate to meet the needs of every human being, for through that gift we have access to the gift of eternal life with Him. In Romans we find one of the most famous verses in all of the Bible, 'For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

For those who accept His Gift, he also sends a further gift of His Spirit to help us each day in our spiritual walk.

When you see God's gift, lying in a manger this Christmas, remember that gift is for you. How appropriate!