Give Differently by Ashley McIlwain

‘Tis the season of giving. Everywhere you look there is an ad for that must-have item that is guaranteed to bring pure bliss to someone’s life. Parking spots are impossible to come by, and every store is overflowing with crazed shoppers frantic to check everyone off their Christmas shopping list. Boxes clothed in beautiful wrapping paper and shiny bows consume the base of the Christmas tree. Is this what it’s all about though?

Obviously gifts are a wonderful way of expressing our love to someone we care about. Gifts can be a powerful and thoughtful way to express an array of emotions ranging from remorse to sympathy to congratulations. None-the-less, Christmas gifts have taken on a life of their own. Americans alone spend over 450 billion dollars every year on Christmas. That’s a lot of money for one day of the year, and yet, what are we really purchasing?

Is our compulsive Christmas shopping about expressing our love and appreciation to those we care about? Is it a reflection of the incomprehensible love that God showed us when he sent His only Son to this world as the ultimate gift? What is our shopping all about…really?

My fear is that Christmas gifts have become a mere habitual holiday motion we got through annually. I fear that gifts really have no purpose other than to satisfy an insatiable desire to have more stuff just because we can. Are we anticipating that we can buy or be given one item that will magically provide us with the key to eternal bliss and happiness? Is Christmas just another to do on our checklist? My fear is that Christmas has been reduced to a purposeless and ravenous spirit of consumerism.

Christmas was never meant to be about stuff. It was about the supreme gift given to us by our Heavenly Father in the form of His Son, who would act as the ultimate atonement for our sins. It was a gift given without glitz, glamour, or pretention. In fact, Jesus came to us in the form of a child, in the humblest of ways – in a manger. And his life was given up as the absolute sacrifice for our sins just so that we could experience freedom and eternal life. It came with no strings attached or cost from us, yet he paid the ultimate price with His life. In return, all Jesus asked of us was to accept this gift given to us – to believe in Him and confess our sins.

Jesus is the reason for the season. He gives purpose to gift giving and celebrating. It’s all about displaying the love of God to those who don’t necessarily deserve it or have done nothing to earn it – just like we did nothing to earn eternal life and freedom from our sins. Christmas is a time to be re-presenters of Jesus Christ and the love He so freely gave us.

What if this Christmas we gave differently? What if we donated to organizations out there making a difference in lives? What if we bought gifts from companies with purpose? What if we gave our time, energy, and love relationally instead of in a frantic rush to shop, shop, shop? What if Christians put Christ back in Christmas?!

My guess is that, “Merry Christmas!” would take on a whole new meaning.

Check out this video our church (Mariner’s) put together as a means of encouraging its congregation to look beyond department stores for the perfect gift.

Please, let me know your thoughts! How can you or how have you given differently this Christmas?

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