You know, in the telling of the Christmas story, much is said every year of the wise men who came bearing gifts to the Christ child, but they were not the only bearers of precious gifts, perhaps not even the bearers of the most valuable ones.

For example, what about the gift of personal pain and sacrifice offered to Christ and for Christ by his noble mother? And what about the courage and devotion of his adopted father, Joseph? Or what about the gift of heavenly song perfected and sung by angelic choirs the night He was born? And don’t forget the gift of adoring faith given by humble shepherds and others? These gifts remained and were cherished long after the material wealth of the wise men had gone the way of the earth.

Now, would you consider a more modern example of what I mean?

Jill had searched and searched, but she could not find the perfect gift for Grandpa. Ties, shirts, watches – all of that had been seen and passed by; it was just not right.

You see, Grandpa was dying of cancer, and likely this would be his last Christmas with the family. And so for Jill, the gift had to be just right. It had to be a symbol of her love and admiration for a grandpa who had loved her so dearly. But nothing she saw in any store was a worthy representation of her feelings. And soon it was Christmas Eve.

She went shopping one more time, but again she came home empty-handed. Then it struck her, “If Grandpa had this money, what would he do with it?”

In a moment her mind was made up. She sat down and poured out her heart to her grandfather, telling him how much she loved him and why, all on a Christmas card. Then, sealing it in an envelope, she took it downstairs and with a big kiss and a “Merry Christmas,” she gave it to him. But before he could open it, she had run back up the stairs.
Now, an hour or so later she came back down – only to find Grandpa with big tears rolling down his cheeks. He pulled her close and wrapped her in a huge hug, the kind of hug that only Grandpa can give.

“That was the best gift you could have given me,” he said.

It was Grandpa’s last Christmas with them, but he left behind a legacy of choice memories and lessons, not the least of which was that the best gifts are those that give a portion of oneself. Oh, [what about] the money that Jill had wanted to spend? She did what Grandpa would have done; she gave it away to the poor.

God bless you, and Merry Christmas.