We all love Christmas. And if we were honest, gift-giving plays a large part in that. But lets be honest.
How many of us can remember the last thirty years of Christmas presents that we received? probably not a lot of us. Or what about how many of those Christmas presents do we still actually use or have?
We all want to make a difference at Christmas in the lives of our loved ones. So how can we make a lasting impact? It requires a change of mind.
We have to shift our mindset from what is under the Christmas tree to the gift of our savior who died on a tree. So read on below to discover three gifts that will make a lasting impact in your families life without taking on a Christmas loan.
Prescence outlives presents
What can we learn from the one who gave us the greatest Christmas gift of all? God gave us the ultimate gift of His presence in the form of Jesus becoming God in the flesh in a manger all those years ago. Why is this important?
Think about all that God could have done. But He did the one thing that would make a major difference for us.
- He could have fixed poverty
- He could have ended all sickness
- He could have judged all
But He did none of this because He knew that His presence held the most potent solution. The perfect life of His son being present on earth would produce salvation for the whole world through the cross and resurrection.
We have to learn that people desire our presence oftentimes more than our presents. And on an even deeper level, our presents will not be received as joyously if we have not been present with that person throughout the ups and downs of a crazy year.
If you doubt the importance of presence over presents just think about that one person that you loved that is no longer with you. We all would trade in all the presents in the world just for their presence this holiday.
Time over toys
Some would say that love is spelled T-I-M-E. And to a degree that is true. God shows us this perfectly. Think about how in order for God to save us God had to do two things.
- God had to spend time in Heaven without Jesus while Jesus was on earth
- Jesus had to leave heaven and come to an imperfect world to save us.
This shows how God is a personal God who desires a relationship with us. And this amazing story that is the reason for the Christmas season reminds us of the importance of time.
So though we all want the latest gadgets or toys, time spent with us is something that truly lasts.
An excellent example of that is that I had many great Christmas mornings. But guess what spoke the most to me?
The fact that every year my grandparents would get up early and spend the time to come over to my house and be with me on the best day of the year.
Does this mean that gifts are wrong or meaningless? Absolutely not. But what it does mean is that time spent with your loved ones is a gift that will outlive the latest toy or gift that you give them.
Hospitality trumps the hottest fads
If there is one thing you could say about the life of Jesus that is often overlooked it is that He was very hospitable. Just look at these few examples.
- Turned water into wine when a wedding ran out.
- Fed thousands of people after teaching them and they had no food.
- Laid healing hands on those society would never get within feet of.
And to top it all off Jesus was not very well off at all. He even said at one point He did not even have a place to lay His head. But He still found the time and means to practice hospitality to those He served.
So may we take a lesson from this. If the God of the universe came to serve and not be served may we do the same? And if Jesus with His limited means could do it then we can too.
Because if you think back on the holidays it was the hospitality and fellowship of the host that was truly memorable.
So what are some practical ideas to practice realistic hospitality? The good news is that it doesn’t have to be HGTV grade.
- invite someone over for coffee. Everyone loves a good cup of coffee
- host a game night. You probably already have games in your closet collecting dust.
- Make a small welcome gift for those new to your neighborhood and deliver it to their house.