How’s your Christmas shopping going? Need some suggestions? Neiman-Marcus, the luxury department store, has some “extraordinary gifts” listed on their website for those searching for last-minute ideas.
For $3,999, you can get the Jura Z10 Fully Automatic Hot and Cold Brew Coffee Machine, designated as a “top gift pick.” Or you can get the $84,000 Acreau Watch. If your wife needs a purse, the Willow Woven Crystal Basket Top-Handle Bag by Judith Leiber lists for $1495. The suggestions go on and on.
Even if you don’t give expensive gifts, Christmas expenditures add up. According to the National Retail Federation, total American spending on holiday purchases will fall between $979 and $1,063 billion this year. Individually, the NRF predicts we consumers will average paying slightly over $1,000 on gifts and other seasonal items.
Thankfully, some of the best presents cost nothing more than thoughtful initiative. Chuck Lawless, administrator and professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, recently wrote a blog entitled “12 Gifts To Give That Don’t Cost Money.”
Give one of these gifts this year, he wrote. With his permission, I share his gift suggestions and add my comments:
*The gospel. Tell someone what Jesus means to you. Share why we celebrate Christmas and why Jesus came. Jesus is the best gift one can give.
*Forgiveness. Withholding forgiveness only hurts ourselves. The sooner we forgive, the sooner we release bitterness and resentment that comes when we hold on to hurts and offenses. One of the most beautiful statements we can make is, “I forgive you.”
*Prayer. Systematically and regularly pray for your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers by name and let them know you’re praying for them.
*Friendship. Be a friend to those who need a friend, especially to the lonely at Christmastime.
*Confession. Have you set a bad example? Have you been a stumbling block in someone’s life? Ask forgiveness. Determine to strengthen your Christian witness.
*Time. For many people, especially our children, LOVE is spelled T-I-M-E. Our jobs are demanding, but this Christmas prioritize time with your spouse, children, and other loved ones. Give yourself.
*A note. Write a note or card expressing how much you appreciate someone or expressing what someone means to you. Or how proud you are of someone.
*Rest. When we were young parents, an older missionary and his wife offered to keep our children so my wife and I could go out to dinner and have a break. We were deeply blessed by their thoughtful gesture.
*Attention. While in seminary, I came home between classes to eat lunch with my young family. I walked in, greeted everyone, and immediately thumbed through that day’s mail. My preschool daughter was excitedly telling me about her morning in detail.
I listened and responded but my eyes were on the mail. She finally said, “Daddy, you aren’t listening.”
I said, “Yes, I am. I’m listening with my ears.”
She responded, “I want you to listen with your eyes, too.”
I put the mail down and gave her my undivided attention, a cherished gift.
*Conversation. Email is good and texting is useful, but sometimes I prefer an old fashion phone call. I want to hear your voice. Lawless wrote, “Hearing your voice will mean more than reading your words.”
*Your marked Bible. As you read through your Bible each day, highlight verses and make notes in the margins. One day, when you’re gone, a loved one will treasure this keepsake.
*A “Thank You.” Let someone who richly impacted your life know how much he or she means to you.
What gift can we give Jesus this Christmas? Christina Rossetti’s 19th Century poem, “What Can I Give Him?” provides this answer:
What can I give Him, as poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring Him a lamb.
If I were a wise man, I’d do my part.
Yet what can I give Him, I’ll give Him my heart!
Jesus wants us to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him completely (Luke 9:23). Will we give Him that gift?
