Praises to our Lord on this day (December 25th), the celebration of His birthday!
It amazes me how we would be greatly offended if on our birthdays those who say they love us and are our family and friends, gave gifts to others and not us. But we do this very thing to the Lord every year. Yet He kindly let’s us see our birthdays with the gifts and blessings to match.
Someone may say, "Yes, but how am I to give Jesus a birthday gift? How is that possible?"
May I suggest that since since we give gifts to persons in bodily form; that is, we present or have them presented to a person in or at a location where we and they can meet each other. Then it should follow that the Lord is given a gift in the same fashion. What is the body of Christ on earth? The local church -- the body of baptized believers in Jesus Christ, the Lord, who meet regularly together in fellowship and worship toward Him and live in obedience to His commands as set forth in His Holy Word, which is each week to be regularly proclaimed and taught by leaders called pastor-teachers (Ephesians 3:17-21; 4:10-13; 5:15-21, 30; Acts 1:8; 2:41-47; Hebrews 10:23-25; I Timothy 4:16; I Peter 5:2).
So then, why not present on Christmas Day the gift you would bring to the Lord, by giving it to Him in worship as a member of His body the local church where you worship.
What has been accepted is that we regularly and systematically buy gifts with the resources which the Lord has blessed us to have; from most places and persons that sell during this time of year to make merchandise and profit in the name of the very One of whom they aren't willing to even acknowledge on that day as the real reason for the season which they profit from. Then we turn around and do somewhat of a similiar thing as the persons and places of merchandise and profit. We give those gifts we purchase to persons of whom this day is not their birthday.
What we need to do on Christmas Day is give to the places that represent the Lord and His work. Starting with the local church, and then other parachurch minstries and charities. What would be right is to give gifts to our children and others as they should do with us as well...on one another's birthdays. For some their birthday is Christmas Day! All this means is that gifts should be given to Christ and to them. Why? It's their birthday!!!
Now let me ask this question: Which of us are really doing birthdays right????
