A Thrill of Hope - Week 3: Day 3

The Most Valuable Gifts
 
 Just because a gift is expensive, does not necessarily mean that it is valuable. Often the most valuable gifts are not the ones that come with an expensive price tag, they are the ones that come with thought, or the ones that have a great sentimental value.

Growing up I always used to think the price or price tag determined value. I suppose from a worldly, materialistic perspective they do. But over the years it has been the sacrificial, sentimental, and thoughtful things that have really gained my attention and appreciation. For that reason, I have tried to be better at giving those types of gifts myself, although often I fail.
I remember one year for Christmas I bought my beautiful wife an expensive vacuum cleaner. I thought she would really like it, and that I could kill two birds with one stone because our current vacuum was on its last leg. I still haven’t stopped paying for that…but I did learn. Don’t ever by your wife household appliance on a holiday…it will end up costing you more in the long run than if you just buy her a gift and go get the appliance when they are on sale.
What I didn’t realize is what I was communicating to her. What she got out of that Christmas present was that she didn’t clean the house good enough. What I got out of that Christmas was the doghouse. Of course, I never would have gotten her that if I would have known in advance of the outcome.

That’s not the same for us, not when it comes to Jesus. God knew the outcome, and He knew the cost. He chose the purchase, our redemption, by the cross!

Look at what the Bible says regarding the arrival of the Wise Men:


Unlike Herod, they had great joy. They hadn’t met the little King yet, but their joy cup was overflowing.  As a result, they gave Him the most precious gifts that they could. They gave Him the well-known Frankincense, Myrrh, and Gold. You would think that might be enough to satisfy anyone. But not Jesus. Jesus will never be satisfied with our material gifts. He will always require the most intimate part of us that there is. That is our heart. A relationship. We may start out giving and doing, and being religious but Christ will always pursue intimacy, and He will break us until He gets it.

When we give Jesus less than our heart, it is like me giving my wife a vacuum cleaner. He will use what we give Him, but He will never be satisfied until we give Him our heart. What are some of the ways we can give Him more of us…our heart, and our devotion or love?