WHY DO WE GIVE GIFTS ON SOMEONE ELSE’S BIRTHDAY?
Have you ever wondered why we give presents during Christmas? It’s kind of a random way to celebrate someone else’s birthday, right? This tradition goes back to the Magi in the New Testament. The wise men were the first people to celebrate Christmas who weren’t actually gathered around the manger. 

I hear a lot of you saying, “Wait, what? The wise men were not at the manger scene?” Sorry to throw off your mom’s Christmas decorations, but the wise men were not present at the nativity. The Bible teaches that they left to see Jesus on the day of his birth. The journey was anywhere from 600 – 1,000 miles long, so it took them almost two years to get to Jesus with his birthday presents. They didn’t see Jesus in a manger, they saw him at his home. If you want your family’s nativity scene to be more accurate, then you should place your wise men in a different room — or down the road at your neighbor’s house. 

READ: Matthew 2:9-10 
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” 

The wise men came to Jesus bearing gifts. They brought gold, frankincense, and wait…there’s myrrh. (Get it?) These are ridiculous gifts for a baby! They could have given him something cool like a LeapFrog, but they got him weird spices and a gold bar. Regardless of their randomness, these gifts are both symbolic and significant. 

The gold was extremely valuable. It was almost exclusively for kings and government leaders at the time. This represents the royalty of Jesus. The frankincense was used in the Temple as insence, which represents Jesus as our high priest and spiritual teacher. Lastly, there is myrrh. This is the weirdest gift of the bunch because it was actually a spice used to perfume and preserve dead bodies after death. The myrrh foreshadows the death and burial of Jesus. 

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of presents and gifts over the holidays. However, something amazing happens when you start emphasizing what you can give instead of what you can get. 

Be like the wise men; focus on giving and not getting. Give to your local church. Give to families who are struggling. Go to the Waffle House on Christmas Eve and leave a massive tip. Give your time by volunteering, serving, and doing stuff for others. You will quickly see that when you give, you grow. You will grow in your spiritual life. You will grow in your faith. You will grow in your emotional health. You will even grow in your friendships. Generosity is a major growth catalyst. 

Giving is an overflow of love, so you can strive to show the love of God by giving. Jesus spent his whole ministry giving. From feeding thousands to serving those in need to ultimately giving His life, Jesus personified generosity. We are called to mirror Him and do the same. To live a generous life is to live a godly life. 

TALK IT OUT 
Go through these questions with your circle. Be honest. Be open. Talk through the tough stuff.
Q1: What’s one of the most generous things someone has ever done for you?

Q2: What’s the most thoughtful things you’ve ever done for someone else?

Q3: Why is it so important to Jesus that we live generous lives? 

Q4: How can we be generous this Christmas season?

Q5: What’s one generous thing you can commit to doing with your time, talents or money this Christmas to show others the love of Jesus?