There was no need for dad to feel bad. We didn't! Rather than missing what I didn't get, I was thankful for what I already had. What did I have? Food, a home and some clothing; but best of all, my parents truly loved me and my siblings. We knew that! Presents weren't necessary to demonstrate their love because it was from the heart! That was my present. I was happy!
Did I want toys? No - that's what wealthy kids had. I made my toys. My imagination turned car tires and a stick into the best of games. I raided the junk yard at the edge of town and made push-mobiles. Any junk lumber laying around was used for ladders to a tree house which I made myself without parental help! You see, poverty is good. Oh, it's no fun to go hungry or hurt with pain, but what a kid doesn't "have" kids "create". Creation was my gift and that gift came from poverty.
I earned money as early as six-years old. I picked 50 hampers (3/4 bushel) of tomatoes at six years old each day. I earned $5 a day. I bought my school clothes with the money, not even looking at the toys. Toys were for rich kids and I wasn't rich. Therefore, the thoughts of toys were not even entertained.
My earliest memories are of toothaches, beginning in the second grade. I pulled weeds for the neighbors and made 25 cents an hour. I didn't buy toys. I bought toothache medicine and carried it with me at all times! Toothache pain was what I had and it's what I expected to have many days. Toys weren't important if only the toothache would quit! "Go to the dentist you say!" Poor kids knew little of dentists and going to the dentist would be an extravagance beyond reality. I would have traded the most grand toy in exchange for alleviation of my toothache pain.
It can readily be seen that toys weren't important to me. They still aren't!
After Christmas break from school we often had to write an essay on what we had gotten for Christmas. Mine was easy. I never got anything in the way of toys, but sometimes did get socks or underwear (my outer clothes were from my older brothers). It took me an hour to "imagine" what toys I got for Christmas. If I had gotten presents what would they have been? My essay was generally on new clothes which I wished I had gotten. They were the ones I lied about getting! I loved Christmas, but I hated the tradition of "receiving". When I thought of my hard-working parents doing without to buy things not needed, toys were just not important. "Giving" would have only been a dream, but :"receiving" was what the other kids did.
To this day I hate "receiving". I'm just uncomfortable with others spending money they need for other things on my frivolities. I would rather them get a head start in life and forgo all the commercialization. Gifts don't translate into love! They become an "obligation". For me the best gift ever is when people love me and show it by affection. That's the gift I grew up with and that's the gift I like! Getting a gift from someone who loves me is redundant and getting gifts from those who don't love me is meaningless!
Friends and relatives: Don't make me feel bad for not liking Christmas holidays. It's a bad time for me because of the nostalgia of what was. It's knowing that it can never be again. It's wishing that those who are celebrating Christmas would take the "Me" out of it, and put the "Him" back into it. Giving gifts to mimic Jesus is not the way to remember. Jesus had no use for material things. The importance of the gifts given to Jesus was not the outward value, but the intrinsic. It was the adoration of him for being who he is!
I remember so well my own children growing up. As parents we had divergent views on healthy giving. Their mother endeavored to buy their love by an over abundance of gifts. The quantity each child received was amazing! With so many toys I looked at confused young faces. They had no idea which toy to play with first, wondering aimlessly from toy to toy. One Christmas, after repeated failure to put their toys away, and at the end of the day, I scooped a bag full up and took them to Goodwill. The kids did't even miss them and never cared! It was more fun for them when we did things together and playing games. My son's best toys were wood, nails and a real adult hammer and saw. I bought those when he was about six. He made it. He never hurt himself seriously. I gave him the "gift of responsibility" that year and to this day both of my boys can do about anything mechanically and electrically. I'm proud of their abilities!
It's a cliche, but "Christmas is about giving... not receiving." Why, then, are so many focused on what THEY are getting? I'm talking about adults, not children. Children have come to expect toys because that's what they've been taught and know. That follows them to adulthood and that's why many adults "expect things" at Christmastime. It's inbred.
For a child if they don't "get" they will be sad. However their "getting" must be sensible and if one must give, let it be to the kids, albeit reasonable giving. Giving to kids is a tradition, not mine, but I accept that. I can't change it, but adults are as serious about getting as are the kids.
Christmastime has erroneously become all about giving and receiving, but the optimum gifts are two: 1) giving to God ourselves as a living sacrifice, and 2) giving to others to show our love. It's not the gift, but the intent. "Sacrifice" as a gift to God would be doing without things. Then the focus is on God and that's the love he wants. Associated with sacrifice is remembering those in need. That's the gift of loving others. What should the gift be? Something which helps them with their NEEDS and it should be meaningful! The magi from the east brought meaningful gifts to Jesus. There were no rattles, baby dolls, stuffed animals, whistles nor even new clothes. Let's look at the gifts the magi brought:
Matthew 2:11 "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh."The first gift goes unnoticed! It is their faith. They traveled hundreds of miles because they had a vision of a savior. They knew who Jesus was and that he came to save mankind from eternal wrath! How do I know that? By the other gifts they brought! The magi believed in Jesus and came to adore him. What wonderful gifts. They really not need to do any further giving, but remember, this is the King who was born. It is believed that with the riches brought that the magi were in fact kings themselves, perhaps tribal kings.
GOLD:
Gold is mentioned as the first gift. First off, there were three gifts, not three wise men. There were at least two and maybe several. I would believe that a large group came to worship the new born savior and that their coming was an announcement to the world that Jesus had come. That may be because it took little time for King Herod to take notice of the pretender to his throne!
In Latin the word for "gold" is aurum. It means "to glow" and is associated with purity. These two adjectives are symbolic of what Jesus is. He is the light of the world and entirely without sin, being purer than even gold.
Gold has always had value and has been used as currency for ages. However, God could have given Jesus all the riches in the world if he so desired, but that's not the case. Satan even tempted Jesus at the start of his ministry with riches. The "gold" wasn't for wealth, but to symbolize the kingship of Jesus. It would appear that the quantity of the gold wasn't significant, because Jesus grew up a humble carpenter.
Throughout the ages there are those who believed that gold was for healing. Some today still use gold as an alternate to traditional healing. Gold was symbolic of Jesus. He came to heal the world, but not with health, but eternal life! Jesus had the miracle of healing for health, but spiritual healing was his destiny"
"Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."Sin is a spiritual disease. It's Satan's device to undermine God. Jesus came to heal the nations who were inflicted with a disease with one cure. They lived, but yet they were dead in sin. Jesus healed "all that were oppressed of the devil". His gift to mankind was salvation. "Gold" represented "healing" and that was what Jesus was born to do!
The Latin word "aurora" has the same root as "aurum" (gold). It means "dawn". Thus the full meaning of "gold" is "shining dawn". Dawn brings on the new day. It's the first light of the morning.
John 8:12 "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."The birth of Jesus was "the dawning light" that began with his birth to shine on us. The gold represented Jesus' purpose. It was to provide spiritual light to this dark world! It didn't take much gold to do this, but a small amount sent the message. Gold has always been used in Old Testament times as a means of glorifying God. At his birth gold did just that!
Gold is found as microscopic particles in rocks. Rocks are then the source of gold. Jesus is the "rock" of our salvation. He is the cornerstone of the Church. Gold comes from rock and to The Rock it was returned. Gold represented Jesus as the rock on which salvation lies!
Gold is also associated with "perfect" or "divine" notions, such as the "golden rule". To do unto others what's right is the primary principle Jesus came to teach. His divine principle was that we are to love others and to love God(him) with all our heart, mind and soul! That's perfect love!
Gold is further associated with the wisdom. Need I say anything of the truth spoken by Jesus. His entire ministry was spoken truth and was God's word.
Although gold represents divinity, it can also represent evil, such as the golden calf. Gold given to Jesus is symbolic of his coming to defeat sin and Satan.
Think more deeply than "gold". Everything in scripture has a divine purpose. Ask yourself when reading: "Why did God do this? What's this got to do with Jesus?" Finding answers to these questions is discernment! The gift of gold was meaningless unless it had hidden meaning. Gold was a fitting gift for Jesus, but is it given today with the same intent?
FRANKINCENSE:
The second gift was frankincense. Surely it too had significance. After all, why would a baby NEED incense? However, even from Old Testament times we can see that frankincense was used in worshiping God:
"Exodus 30:34-38; 37:29 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto yourself sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: And you shall make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: And you shall beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with you: it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the perfume which you shall make, you shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto you holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make like unto it, to enjoy the smell thereof, shall even be cut off from his people."Like gold, frankincense is symbolic of purity. It was burned as a pleasing fragrance to God during sacrifice. Here, again we have "sacrifice" associated with gifts to Jesus. Frankincense was to recognize God for his purity and holiness. It was God who became flesh. Jesus desired the sweet smelling aroma of worship himself. However, frankincense made for worship was never to be used by others. Those who misuse this gift by giving it to themselves, steals the glory of God.
It should be clear here, that Christmas isn't for us to honor ourselves and others, but to glorify God! If a parent wants to see the joy in the eyes of their child, let it be another day, but reserve this day for putting a gleam in God's eyes!
The smoke of the incense signifies offered prayer.
Hebrews 9:3 "And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; 4a Which had the golden censer..."The golden censer was used for burning incense. It was burned as the priest prayed for the sins of the people and made sin offerings to God. Whereas the priests of old made periodic sacrifices to God for himself and the Hebrews as the incense burned, the prayer offered in the presence of Jesus is this:
Hebrew 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.The frankincense burned is a prayer of thanksgiving to Jesus who "by his own blood" came to redeem us from eternal death. The magi knew why Jesus came and they came to celebrate, not only his birth, but his death. Jesus was born to die, and to die in our place! John in his Revelation saw that incense:
Revelation 8:4 "And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand."The burning of frankincense offers a sweet aroma as God hears the prayers of those who love him. Incense is a method of demonstrating our love of God. Maybe Christians should still do this today!
MYRRH:
Myrrh is arabic meaning "bitter". It was always known to be an analgesic. It was the aspirin of the time and was known for it's healing powers. We've already discussed Jesus as healer and this too symbolizes Jesus ability to take the pain out of living. For me, myrrh is "hope". That's what Jesus provides! Eternal life without pain is why I was saved. Jesus came to save and myrrh was there to symbolize who Jesus was!
The collection of myrrh is symbolic of Jesus as well. When it's collected the sapwood is wounded. It is at the wound that the tree bleeds resin. From that bleeding comes healing from the gum of that tree. There is not just one wound on the sapwood tree, but repeatedly it is wounded for it to bleed. Mankind uses the "blood" of that tree for life. Like Jesus, the "Tree of Life", who was wounded repeatedly, myrrh represents Jesus' blood as the propitiation for the sins of mankind. It's the "gum" called redemption. Jesus redeemed us and myrrh was given as symbolic of that!
Myrrh was even used by the ancient Egyptians for the embalming of mummies. Myrrh attempted to prolong life after death and that's what the myrrh of the "Tree of Life" does for those who partake of it!
Myrrh is also listed as an ingredient in the holy anointing oil used to anoint the Tabernacle, high priests and kings. Jesus was rightfully anointed by the gift of myrrh as King.
John 1:41 "He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.""The Messiah" or "Christ" are descriptions of "The Anointed One". How much clearer can myrrh be? It signified that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. He IS Christ born!
The three gifts to Jesus, four counting faith, meant something and were symbolic of who Jesus was and what he came for! The gifts were to glorify Jesus who was God with us! It wasn't meant to be a precedent for us receiving, but to honor God by loving his son Jesus. Just as God doesn't need idols or icons to be worshiped, neither does he need tradition to glorify him.
I'm not a curmudgeon because I hate the Christmas season. I merely am uncomfortable with what it has become. Few glorify Jesus that day and even the pagans expect gifts. That's not what Christmas is about! When I endeavor to offer a short discourse on the meaning of Christmas, those around me seem to have a "hurry up and get that over" attitude so that the receiving can begin. I stand back discouraged, not for me, but for what Christmas has become. The traditions of Christmas are steeped in the pagan gods of Rome and the Druids of Britain, not in the teachings of scripture. What God wants for Christmas is for us to honor his Lordship and purpose and to love him
With the giving of the three gifts, the magi never asked "What's in it for me?" They knew what was! Their reward was to be eternal. The valuable gifts they gave were sacrificial, meaning that they expected nothing in return.
Christmas! What IS in it for you? You indeed get a gift with the birth of Jesus, but it can't be played with nor taken for granted. The birth of Jesus gave us the gift of "hope". However, as with any gift, hope must be accepted by those to whom it's given. I see few who accept that gift. I worry about that on Christmas. I think of those that I love, not having hope. I do thank God on his birthday celebration for my gift of hope, but feel despair that some I love haven't accepted the same gift. It's a sweet/sour experience for me. Bear with me on that day!
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