We all have our favorite gifts we have received over the years. This year, it looks like Louie has found his – a plush Christmas reindeer. I used to take my Christmas toys and put them together to play with. Each one so special at that time and kept close, like Louie’s reindeer.
We also remember how the preciousness fades. Over time, they get lost, broken, or we simply tire of playing with them. Maybe they hold a fondness, but distant nonetheless. It’s our nature to want more, be excited, and want some more. We’re happy for a time, and the next shiny “must-have” comes along. Satisfaction is fleeting.
A long time ago men came to the Christ child and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. A child who, presumably, didn’t play with the gifts like a child plays with toys. We don’t read about him toting the precious gifts around with him. Did he lose them, or did they break? Despite legends and extra-Biblical stories, we don’t know what ultimately happened to them.
The Magi’s gifts were not purely physical or a simple possession. Instead, they were gifts for us as well. Each precious then. And precious now. Recognizing the royalty of the King of Kings, Jesus was given gold. The frankincense, the worshipful sweet-smelling fragrance identifying his priesthood. Finally, to foreshadow his death as the ultimate gift from God – myrrh, the ointment used in burial. Three gifts that represent Jesus, God in the flesh. A gift that can never grow old, never break, and carries us from this old, broken life to eternal glory.
Matthew 2:11 – And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myr
