I believe it
was a greeting card company who had as a part of their advertising efforts the
slogan, “When you want to give the very best…”. They believed they had the
best. They wanted you to believe they had the best. If you did, then you should
feel obligated to buy their product. It was just good merchandising.
The concept
of giving the very best brings different thoughts to all of us. A lot of it
revolves around the motivation. Who deserves the best and why? What will it
mean to us to give someone the best? Is it the best in our eyes or in the eyes
of someone else?
There are
times I want to give the best, my best. A few times I give only what is
required by someone else. In each instance I am making a value judgment about
what the person deserves and what I consider the good, better, best, or none of
the above. That is what the person gets from me though I admit that is not
always the best attitude to have.
We give
Christmas presents the same way. The wall hanging made by fingers twisted by
arthritis and needing five months to complete represents a “best” that money
cannot buy. The crayon picture designed by a four-year-old and splattered with
spilled chocolate milk is a priceless piece of art. Even the gift card for the
local coffee shop says, “I thought of you. I know what you like best when it’s
time to unwind. I hope this helps.”
This is a
season of remembering, celebrating, and giving thanks. Our western society has
added a heavy dose of giving material objects. Even if we do allow our
involvement in the season to be measured by the amount of material gifts we
give, we still make those value judgments. Who will receive a gift from us? How
much will it cost in dollars, effort, or both? How personal will it be? How
much of our own unique personhood will the gift represent?
When God
decided to give the very best, he gave Himself (Matthew 1:18-23). The season of
Thanksgiving was originally directed solely toward God. His providence had made
survival possible whether for the journey or through the winter. The season of
Christmas should be just as much a season of thanksgiving. There would be no
hope of salvation at Calvary without the miraculous birth at Bethlehem.
God gave us
his best. What are we offering him during this season of celebration and
thanksgiving? God gave his best. He deserves our best in return. Will that cost
be measured in dollars, in time, or in some other form of personal sacrifice?
We often
make a list of gifts we want to give to others at Christmas. Perhaps it is
based upon what we want to give others. Maybe it is based upon what we know
they would want. God wants what we are willing to give. He wants us to be
willing to give what he desires most.
What does
God desire most from you? What will you do to make sure God gets what he wants
from you this Christmas?
Here is a
short list of what I see God wanting from me:
My love
My attention
A malleable heart
A sensitive spirit
A generous attitude
A bold vision
A courageous stand
An eager desire to grow in Christlikeness
A total submission to the Lordship of the Holy Spirit
He knows
what the cost will be for me to give him the gifts he wants. He becomes all and
I become nothing. He claims everything and I claim nothing. He receives all
glory and I receive nothing. He exercises all power and I exercise nothing.
This
Christmas God wants all things from me so he may give me all things. When I
have given him everything and I am empty, then he can fill me with the greatest
gifts of all, his divine love and eternal presence (Ephesians 1:13-14; I John
3:24)). They were given in Bethlehem. He still gives them today.
