Christmas Gifts

Dear Friends,

As I write this, December is just beginning, and I already feel bombarded with messages about how to spend my money and my time. Glittering stores offer special Christmas deals, as advertisements recommend the best way to create that perfect Christmas spirit. This year, these appeals seem even more frantic and persistent, as retailers try anything to pump up a sagging market.

So what do you and I really need during the Christmas season? And what will be the key to creating that perfect holiday spirit - one that has lasting value? Let me share a couple of gifts I’m hoping for this year.

Simplicity. The story of Christ in a manger, born to a carpenter in the small village of Bethlehem is so well known that we don’t consider the other options available to his Father. God could have arranged a lavish birth in a palace, or a comfortable arrival in the premiere medical facility of the day. None of this would have stretched the family budget.

Perhaps God knew that precious gifts can be buried in the clutter that surrounds them. More is not necessarily better. I need to know what is really precious about Christmas and then say “no” to some of the extras. Simplicity offers surprising value.

Celebration. One place where the Father didn’t scrimp was the angel choir. Here He pulled out the stops, sending an entire host to sing glory to God in the highest. When the shepherds returned from seeing the child, they just kept glorifying God and praising Him for what they had seen and heard.

Have you ever noticed that the busyness of Christmas can leave little time for praise and worship? This year I’d like to stop and celebrate, and then let praise and worship bubble over into conversations and interactions with people around me. Maybe we should take a break from wrapping presents, put on a CD and sing in the living room! Our audience of one is immeasurably big.

Connection. When the angel announced Christ’s birth to Joseph, he gave him the name “Immanuel – God with us”. In Jesus, the God of the universe came near. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Could it be that one of the best gifts I can give my loved ones is the gift of “nearness”- the gift of connection? When my wife, or children, or friends get my full attention and sense that I am fully present and “with them”, it blesses them in ways I probably don’t even understand. Let’s not be so distracted doing things for those we love that we forget to give them ourselves. And believe me, they will know.

Hoping to give some lasting gifts,

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture