A Christmas Gift for Jesus

by Claire
from Virtuous Daughters, December 2009~Volume 9, Number 9

Dear Sisters in Christ,

As Christmas time comes around, we begin to plan what to give to our family, or our relatives, or our friends. But do you ever think of giving a gift to Jesus? After all, it is His birth that we are celebrating at Christmas.

Now you may be asking yourselves, “Give a gift to Jesus; how can I do that?” It is impossible to give Jesus a tangible gift, but what about the gift of YOU? Could we not surrender our entire lives to Him and be prepared with the armor of God to go anywhere, at any time, and do everything for His glory?

Every day you might spend time investing in the lives of your brothers and sisters, clean your house, cook meals for your family, etc. . . . Maybe you feel like you have served enough and you just want to quit! But Sister, Oh Sister, don’t stop there! Your joys in heaven will be far greater if you continue serving each other with a whole heart and without grumbling or complaining. God says in Matthew 20:26–27, “But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” You will be chief among many brethren if you continue to wholeheartedly serve everyone around you!

Go farther; go beyond all of this. Step into an ocean and walk on the water. Continually look toward Christ because He will hold you up as He did for Peter in Matthew 14:22–32. If your eyes are stayed on Jesus, you will not drown in worldly talk, desires, and choices. Take a big step of faith and do what it takes to further the work of God in the way He wants you to. Maybe it is serving at an orphanage, a senior center, your local hospital; maybe it includes going across oceans and plains to get to Europe, Asia, Africa, or maybe elsewhere. Pray and ask God where He needs you most. It may be at home for some of us young ladies, but maybe it is as far from home as you can get serving God for others.

Once I heard a story that went like this: One day a speaker came in to tell the workers at a local grocery store about how everyone is important and can make a difference on the team. Sitting in this meeting was a young man named Johnny who worked at the store as a courtesy clerk. Johnny wondered how he could do anything important, so he began to pray. Not long after he began to pray, God gave him an idea. Johnny could print out encouraging quotes and give one to each customer as they went through his bagging stand. He began to do this, saying to each customer, “Here is an encouraging quote. I hope this will brighten your day!” This went on for awhile and each day Johnny’s line became longer and longer and the other cashiers’ lines became shorter. One day the line of Johnny’s went to the very back of the store! The manager came by and kept telling people from the line there were open check-out stands, but each person’s response was the same. “No, thank you. I will stay right here because I want to receive one of Johnny’s encouraging quotes that he gives us each time we go through his bagging stand!” Johnny, with what he thought was a little thing, blessed a lot of people by the quotes he gave them. Your little encouragements and service to others can go a long way too.

For several years I have had the earnest desire to work on the mission field, especially at the orphanages in Romania for God, but for now He is giving me opportunities to work with other young children here at home. Your desire will be different than mine. Pray and listen to God and do what He is telling you to do right now. God can use you in ways like He used Johnny.

The best gift you could ever give to Jesus is your love, and in order to do that you must surrender your life to God and be willing to serve doing anything at anytime and at any place. Make this a Christmas you will never forget because you have given the gift of the whole YOU to Jesus! “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” Matthew 22:37 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10