Christmas Gifts

As you well know, Christmas in today’s world consists of a number of components:
Trees, yards, houses and stores decorated with millions of colored lights;
Traditional and contemporary Christmas tunes floating from every radio, TV, CD player, and PA system;
People hustling through the mall and bustling about attending family gatherings and work parties. During the Christmas season there’s a strong focus on children, the family, good will and generosity, and lots of good times. But what is of special interest today is something that we have been told much of our economy is based on, the giving of gifts. This year there seems to be some disappointment on the way. While merchants count on holiday shopping for up to a third of their annual sales, most analysts predict a lack luster retail season, with no more than 3 to 4 per cent growth. (CBS News) “We think it’s going to be the weakest Christmas since the early 90s,” said Ethan Harris, chief U.S. economist at Lehman Brothers (MSNBC news Report).
Perhaps, like me, you’ve wondered where it came from, this annual obsession of heaping gifts, this frantic tearing away of multi-colored wrapping paper to find out an answer to the all-important question, “Did I get what I wanted for Christmas?” It seems that there are very few people in America who could possibly believe that Christmas could exist without giving and receiving gifts. Haven’t you ever heard someone say, “We’re broke this year, so we won’t be able to have Christmas”? Interestingly, it appears that we can have Christmas without Christ, Christmas without God, Christmas without church - but not Christmas without gifts. Some may even go so far as to say that at least two of the three major fruits of Christmas (Love, Joy, Peace) are present at Christmas-time because people show Love by giving, and those who receive the gifts experience Joy – at least if they like what they’ve been given. I believe the only way to experience lasting Love, Joy and Peace is through the Gift of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. So as we give gifts this season ask your self have you recieved the ultimate Gift ever given? It would be a shame to do all that giving and miss the Gift of God.

Anthony Goin