“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 and of incense and of myrrh” (Matthew 2:11 NIV).
Last Sunday when I returned from church I found the three wisemen from our mantle’s nativity scene on my deck. My kids conspired to have them meet me upon my return. I began laughing before I even got my keys out of the ignition.
You see, that morning I had preached from Matthew chapter two. I had explained that we need to get back to what the Bible says about Christmas.
“For instance,” I explained. “We don’t even get our nativity scenes right. The Magi didn’t visit baby Jesus in a stable. That was the shepherds. They visited the “child” Jesus in a “house.” If we want to get our story straight, we should put the wisemen out on the deck traveling towards the mantle.”
And so, I returned home to find our three porcelain figurines waiting for me outside. I’m not complaining though. At least my family was listening.
I hope my church family is listening too. We’ve challenged one another to get back to the true meaning of Christmas. We’re challenging one another to join the “Advent Conpiracy” by going against the flow of our consumer culture by “Worshipping More, Spending Less, Giving More and Loving All.
The Magi brought three gifts, but the three gifts that God gave through the gift of His son are the real key to understanding Christmas.
Jesus offers a sacrificial gift. He left heaven to become human. He left a heavenly throne for a cattle trough. He left angelic praise for human spite. He died as a sacrifice for our sins.
Jesus offers a relational gift. He didn’t send money. He came Himself. He didn’t send an emissary. He became a woman’s son. He become a brother, a friend. He came to us.
Jesus offers an incarnational gift. He is Immanuel… God with us. He is God made flesh for us. And He offers to live in us so that we too are united with our God.
Getting back to the Bible at Christmas is more than just getting your nativity scene right, it’s about giving the way Jesus did. Will you join my family as we determine to give sacrificially, relationally, and incarnationally (being the body of Christ) this Christmas?