Whose Birthday is It anyway!?

Have you ever thought it peculiar that we celebrate Jesus's birth by giving gifts to each other! Isn’t that the equivalent to a birthday party where each person brings a gift for another party-goer, but not for the person whose birthday it is? Historians do not agree on the origin of gift-giving. Many date the custom to the 4th century Bishop St. Nicholas who gave to the poor on Christmas day, perhaps mindful of Jesus’ words, “Whatever you did unto one of the least, you did unto me” (Matt. 25:40). 

In recent years, there has been a trend to give donations to the needy in another’s name. For example, a few years ago, I received a card that said, “$50 has been given in your name to a buy Bibles for pastors in China.” The next year it was chickens to Africans. While such gifts fit the spirit of Jesus' words, there is something more: one thing He desires with all of His heart—“your” heart. You may be thinking,  “I've already given Him that.” Yet, it is the quintessential gift that keeps on giving. And He never tires of receiving.