What to GIVE for Christmas

The Charlie Brown Christmas special has been running annually for over 30 years, and in that animated masterpiece, the real meaning of Christmas has been exposed openly and concisely, and watched by countless millions. So, why do so many people still miss the meaning?

Christmas is all about celebrating the advent (coming) of Christ, in human form, some 2,000 years ago. The significance of His birth and His mission was missed by almost everyone in that time, so maybe we should not be surprised that people still miss the point. However, that is not a resignation to perpetual ignorance - rather - it is a chance to bring clarity and illumination to a world that needs to see Jesus lifted up.

Christ came in response to God's desire to usher in a new covenant with mankind, in that, God would satisfy His own righteous anger and judgment towards our sin, and proclaim us justified and sinless before Him in response to our faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. It may be a tad trite, but the word "giving" appropriately encapsulates this holy plan to redeem mankind from the ravages of sin, for Christ had to willingly give of Himself so that we could be made right with God (see Romans 3: 22 - 28). In light of such truth, it is also appropriate for us today to see Christmas as a time of celebrating "giving," even as we worship the Lord who has saved us.

Giving should be central to all that is Christmas. Giving gifts is giving, but to limit giving to those who are going to gift you right back is missing the point in a big way. You see, Christ gave to those who could never rescue themselves, and could never give back in kind. He rescued the helpless, and saved the doomed. His giving was the epitome of agape love, which is godly love, the highest and purest form of love. Agape is a Greek word that in an earthly translation means basically, "love that is unconditional and is not dependant upon return." He gave of Himself because no one else could, and because of His love for His creation (that's you and me). So, with this in mind, maybe we should re-think giving at Christmas time.

The suggestion here is to develop a new tradition at Christmas with you and your family. How about deciding to not give gifts to each other, but with prayer, choose rather to give to someone, or a family, or group a gift of finances, time, effort, etc.? The idea would be to seek out those who are helpless and cannot reciprocate in any way. Think of a widow on your street or neighborhood. How about that child that needs the basics just to survive? What about that missionary you know who could really use a care package from home? A soldier overseas that would love some notes, some cookies, and a blanket? How many people in the local nursing home would love a visit and some warm slippers and a hug? The list goes on and on, but the wonderful tradition must start somewhere. Yourself and your children need to experience this, rather than just talk about it.

We can try and try to capture the Christmas time spirit and meaning in all kinds of ways, but we will miss the point if we fail to actually give in a way that resembles the spirit in which Christ gave. Christmas time is a great time to put feet to our faith and action into our walk and start CONNECTING with PEOPLE!

So, pray for direction (let God lead you in this), resolve to be an active giver, and then get on with it. Such action will forever change your whole perspective on Christmas and then maybe we can all watch Charlie Brown with no guilt and a ton of joy. Go get 'em Chuck!