Christmas Gifts

Matthew 2:11

On coming to the house, [The Magi] 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 and of incense and of myrrh.

These wise scholar-kings who had been looking for a sign that this momentous occasion had arrived, spent their time and efforts to travel probably for months to find this Child. The gifts they presented Him are very significant: Gold is given to kings, as He is the King over all kings; Incense (or Frankincense) signifies that He is our High Priest, to offer the fragrant perfume of our prayers before the Eternal Throne of God in Heaven; and Myrrh, a burial spice, indicating that He would submit to going through Death itself in order to conquer it, and He will destroy it at the end of this Earth's time as the last enemy to be destroyed.

Because these wise men presented gifts to Jesus, we give gifts to one another at Christmas. But the greatest Christmas gift is Jesus, Himself: That God loves us so much that He gave, He gave us His only Son, He emptied Heaven of His Son for a time, so that whoever would put their trust in Him would never die eternally, but live with Him forever. That is the great wonder and Truth of Christmas.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!