Advent Devotion – 12/6/2010

December 6, 2010 – Favorite Gift

Scripture: Luke 2:19 (NIV)
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Devotion:
I don’t know if I have a favorite Christmas gift. There are gifts that stand out from year to year but no real favorite. Sometimes I have wondered why I received a certain gift (and with a large family both on my and Kathy’s side, it’s highly likely that I received something that was meant for someone else).

Giving gifts is both fun and frustrating – I love trying to find something unique and different but rarely have I had the money to do what I really would like to do. Some gifts seemed better in my head than they did on Christmas morning.

Luke tells the story of thing that were brought as gifts to the baby Jesus and how Mary treasured them all and pondered on them. Why were the gifts even brought? What did they mean? Were they really intended for her baby boy? And did the magi second guess their choice of gifts as they finally arrived to kneel and present them to this baby in a manager?

Legend tells us that the gifts were foreshadowing more of Who this Baby would be and how His life here on earth would end. They may have been more practical than one would initially think. Though I don’t fully understand the choices, I believe the gifts were perfect for the One who received them and that Mary was given a brief glimpse of their meaning and purpose as she pondered them in her heart.

What was your favorite Christmas gift? Why? What gift that you gave to someone else stands out in your memory? Why?

Thank you, Father, for the memories of gifts past and present – those from friends and family and those from You. These gifts have been perfect in their time and purpose. Help us treasure up all these things and ponder them in our hearts. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.