Special Gifts

By Muriel Larson

About two thousand years ago God sent to mankind the greatest gift to ever be given: His Son, Jesus Christ. When we receive God's gift of salvation through Christ, God gives us a new life on earth and eternal life in glory. (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 9:15; 2 Corinthians 5:17)

The wise men from the East were filled with joy when they saw the star stand still over a certain house in Bethlehem. When they went into the house and saw the young child Jesus, they fell to their knees and worshiped Him. The gifts they brought--gold, frankincense, and myrrh--carried a special meaning.

GOLD was suitable only for a king. And this young child was destined to become King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14). Gold is symbolic of an item of genuine worth and great value (Lamentations 4:2; Revelations 3:18).

FRANKINCENSE was a fragrant gum resin used as incense by the Hebrews in the worship of God. These wise men acknowledged with this gift that this young child was God in the flesh. Furthermore, they presented it to Him in an act of worship, bowing low before Him.

MYRRH, a sweet-smelling gum resin from a tree, was symbolic of death. It was used in preparing bodies for burial. This revealed that this young child was born for the special purpose of dying. No other person who ever lived was born for that special purpose. Jesus Christ, according to His own testimony, came "to give his life as a ransom for many," to pay for our sins (Mark 10:45).

OUR SPECIAL GIFTS TO CHRIST

How can we give such meaningful gifts today to the King of kings and Lord of lords? What is the best way for us to gratefully celebrate Christmas?

The Bible speaks of our faith being much more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7). Absolute faith, trust, and confidence in the Lord are always pleasing to Him. God might consider it a lovely gift if we would just stop fretting about things, and completely trust Him. How much closer our relationship to God would be, and how much happier we would be! If we had more faith, we would also obey our Lord more.

The Bible speaks of some works of Christians as being "gold" (1 Corinthians 3:12). These works of gold, I believe, are those we are prompted to do in obedience to God's guidance, and out of a heart of love for our Lord and our fellow man.

Often they involve sacrifice on our part. When they are done in a spirit of humility and complete dependence upon the Lord, they demonstrate God's love to all those to whom we show compassion, concern, mercy, and love. Jesus said God would reward us if we even give one cup of cold water to some thirsty soul in His name.

Would you like to give gold to Christ for Christmas? Give Him your whole heart in faith, and ask Him what He would have you do for Him.

Would you like to give frankincense to Christ? Then, when you first awake in the morning, worship, praise and thank Him. Let the theme of your whole life be: "I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips" (Psalm 34:1).

When you go to church, concentrate on having a spirit of true worship in your heart. Let nothing distract you from worshipping the Lord. When you sing, sing with your whole heart. When someone is praying, let your heart join in with every praise and request. When the message is brought, thank the Lord for it, and ask Him what He wants to say to you. When you are imbued with the spirit of praise to the Lord, you become a great up lifter of other people.

Would you like to give myrrh to the Lord Jesus Christ? This is the hardest of all! It's called "death to self." The Apostle Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

Dying to self means shaking off the shackles of all known sin and getting rid of the "old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires" It means "putting on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24). Thus we allow Christ to live His life through us.

To give myrrh to Christ, we will turn ourselves and our lives over to Him completely. Then we will know exactly the way in which He would have us to serve Him and others.

CHRIST'S SPECIAL GIFTS FOR US

Besides His life, His love, and His mercy, our Lord Jesus Christ also wants to give us gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In Revelation 3:18 Jesus Christ says to the lukewarm Laodicean church, "I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich."

Yes, Christ expects us to buy this gold. As Matthew Henry said, "Something indeed must be parted with, but it is nothing of valuable consideration. It is only to make room for receiving true riches. Part with sin and self-sufficiency, and come to Christ with a sense of poverty and emptiness, that you may be filled with His hidden treasure."

If we have been born into God's family through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, then as members of His church we have the potential possession of the frankincense and myrrh that the Lord alone can give.

In speaking prophetically about Christ's bride, the Church, the Bible says, "Who is coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense?" (Song of Solomon 3:6). She has a sweet fragrance because of the graces of God's Spirit.

What are these graces? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). How do we individually receive these sweet-smelling graces? By yielding ourselves completely to the Lord and asking His Spirit to fill us (Luke 11: 13, Eph. 5:18).

What gifts will you give this Christmas to our Lord; and what gifts will you receive from Him? And what gifts will you give to others by the power of His Spirit? Will they be gold, frankincense, and myrrh?