What Will You Give Him?

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 NIV

The wisemen, or magi,  brought gifts to Jesus. Gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold is a precious metal, frankincense a perfume, and myrrh an anointing oil. All expensive gifts worthy of a king. They were brought to Jesus and were valuable to his family. Gold would have been of great benefit to a young couple as they moved to Egypt to protect their young child. Frankincense and myrrh had medicinal properties and emitted an aromatic fragrance. All valuable to Jesus' family.

As I read one *commentary I found it interesting that Gold is a gift worthy of a king. Jesus was born a king. Gold symbolizes Jesus as our king!  Frankincense is symbolic of Jesus' life. And myrrh is an anointing oil symbolic of Jesus' death. All gifts foretelling of Jesus' birth, death, and life.

But as I studied the value of these gifts, I began thinking about what I would give Jesus this year. I can so easily get consumed by the gifts I will give my friends and loved ones, but Christmas is about a savior given to us. Undeserved and unconditional. A beautiful gift from our loving Father. Christmas is about giving.

But do we stop and think about what we can give to Jesus. Our hurts, our hangups, our addictions, and our fears. All things we can give to Jesus, and surprisingly he delights in receiving these gifts. We can give him more time in worship and more time in study and awe of his Word. But what Jesus really wants is us... our hearts, our attention, our time, our love.

Can you believe it? He wants you! He loves you and wants nothing more than for you to give yourself to him with abandon. What will you give Jesus this year?



* Dr. J. Vernon McGee. Thru The Bible. Nelson Publishing. 1983. vol. IV, p. 16.