And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh

Luke 2:11 (ESV)

The wise men were known as the magi who gave gifts to Jesus when He was a young boy. Christians connect their gift-giving tradition at Christmas time with the story of the wise men. These men had the reverence to recognize the Son of God and presented Him with expensive gifts. They took a long journey that spanned about 400 miles in order to find the King of the Jews. At the end of that journey, they gifted Jesus with rare and valuable items.

We can still give our valuable gifts to God today. We don’t have to travel many days and nights to deliver presents to our Lord and Savior. The three gifts the wise men gave to Jesus were symbolic. Gold is affiliated with kings. Frankincense is utilized in worship. Myrrh is a fragrance that covers the smell of dead bodies, symbolizing the purpose of why Jesus came to earth.

Our gifts to God can be more than symbolic and materialistic. We can give our time to Him, making Him our highest priority. We can give gifts to those less fortunate in obedience to what God has called us to do. There are many things you can do with the gifts God has given you. Not only during the Christmas season, but we should always give Him our best in all that we do.

God gave us Jesus, His One and Only Son, as a gift to us. How should we respond? If He can care for us by paying the penalty of sin in our lives, we can give back what little we have back to Him to show love to our Lord. He gave us love when we didn’t deserve it. The power of grace enables us to show that love to others.

This week, pray about how you can give your gifts to Christ. Look at your life to see how you can be charitable to others, while also showing the love of Jesus along the way.