The Response

Prov.8:¹⁹ “My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver!”

You really cannot be appreciative of any gift until you unwrap it. You cannot really say, thank you, until you see the content of the gift. Josh came back home early from work to surprise his wife on her birthday. He hugged her and handed her a little box. She smiled, thanked him and just tossed the box on the table. He waited and waited but she did not open the box that night. While she was cleaning up the next morning she saw the box on the table and opened it. Inside the box was the key to a brand-new BMW convertible. She screamed and ran upstairs to meet him. Did the gift change? Could she really appreciate the gift or say thank you before she saw the content?

Similarly, we really cannot bow until we see the beauty of the gift of Jesus that God has given to us, the gift we are celebrating. I pray that God will help you, as you open the gift of Christ. Matt.2:¹⁰ “When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” [with emphasis]. The second thing the wise men did was, they opened their treasure chest and gave Him gifts. The truth is that, God does not need anything from us, but God rejoices when we give Him things. They opened their treasure chest and gave Jesus gifts. They gave gold to the One who created gold. Frankincense and myrrh to the person that created man and created the heavens and the earth.

The gifts we give God cannot make God richer. What do you think would have happened if that woman opened that gift box that same night? It is a question that needs no answer, but the window was gone because she did not open it. Whatever response she gives is because of appreciation of the gift. It is so important that we understand that when we give to God, we are not making God richer. Sometimes the things we do put a question mark on the authenticity of our walk with God. Imagine Jesus is standing before you right now and it is His birthday, what are you going to give Him? Yes, when we give to God’s work we give to Jesus. When we give to God’s Kingdom we give to Jesus, we expand His work on earth and people can come to Him because of our giving. However, there is an aspect of giving to Jesus that I want us to engage. Matt.25:³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?... ⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” [with emphasis].

Prayer: Father, I lay down my resources as gifts before You today, in Jesus Name. Amen!