The tree has
been lit all day. The table is cleaned of the remains of too much food available
for grazing. The discarded wrapping paper has been bundled and bagged. Gifts
are stacked in corners of the room, and the focus has moved to slouching in
overstuffed chairs. The giving is over.
I would
suggest we find a way to keep the giving going. With December 25th,
we begin the Twelve Days of Christmas with enough variety in its traditions
almost anything will be acceptable if you want to recognize them. We all know
the song by the same title. A different gift is presented each day, the number
growing throughout the song. Some commercial interests would have us practice this
before Christmas, but the traditions generally point to a post-Christmas
celebration.
Rather than
give the rather extraordinary gifts mentioned in the song, there are others not
of a material nature that would be most appreciated by their recipients. These
do not necessarily cost money, but they could involve some significant
sacrifice on our parts. Their precious natures would be revealed in the impact
they would have on both the one who gives and the one who receives.
The first
group of gifts I would suggest is best known as the fruit of the Spirit. Listed
in the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (5:22-23), these characteristics
are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control. Each of the first nine days of the Twelve Days of Christmas
might have one of these values as its focus. Each day we would offer this value
as a gift to everyone we meet. How would this affect our relationships to the
people who crossed our paths? Would we shock them? Would we be strengthening
those relationships? Would we become an unexpected blessing to people who
desperately needed one?
To finish
out the twelve days, three other qualities would be quite in order. They might
be mercy, forgiveness, and holiness. To be merciful (Luke 6:36) is to reflect
the nature of our heavenly Father. It would include such activities as avoiding
judgmentalism, giving someone a second chance, or refusing condemnation when we
had every legal right to do so.
To be
forgiving is also a reflection of the nature of God. (Matthew 18:21-35) To
forgive is not to deny something wrong has happened. The opposite is true. No
forgiveness is possible unless we admit something is owed or a wrong has been
committed and the innocent have been hurt. Then we are able to say we will not
be the judge, jury, and executioner. On the contrary forgiveness says we
acknowledge the wrong but will demand no punishment. We will instead wipe the
slate clean and move on with a new beginning. As such forgiveness expects a
change as a response to the forgiveness.
The Apostle
Peter reminds us we are to be like our heavenly Father even to the point of our
separateness from the world around us. (I Peter 1:14-16) This does not mean we
are to isolate ourselves from the world. Rather we are to live in such a
fashion as to be identified with the God we worship and obey. This involves avoiding
any compromise, any personal justification for disobedience, or any rationalizing
a need for expediency. We are to be holy, set apart from the world, so we may
be clearly identified as children of the God who loved us and sent his Son to
die for us becoming our Lord and Savior.
Celebrating
the birth of Christ on December 25 should be the beginning of an effort to
offer the world an opportunity to be different, to know hope, to see the True
Light that can guide the lost into a life worth living. The transformation you
may start in someone’s life by giving twelve intangible gifts will far exceed
the value of any material present you might have given on Christmas Day.
