Monday, December 23rd, 2019

The final days before Christmas are typically marked by commercials and ads about “last minute deals” to suggest (sometimes a little too forcefully!) that we all need to keep buying gifts for others up to the last minute before Christmas. We have all felt that pressure. Generosity is a wonderful thing, but buying for the sake of having something to give isn’t exactly what Jesus had in mind for the holiday celebrating his birth. Nor was it what the three wise men had in mind when they gave newborn Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When we focus on the “Christ” part of Christmas, generosity takes on a new meaning — one of giving because you have already been given the most valuable gift you could wish for. John wrote of Jesus, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” These days leading up to Christmas, remember that we give because Jesus first gave to us and through that gift, we all may live with the light that shines through whatever darkness we may face.

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” — John 1:4-5