Holiday advertisements are

full of gift ideas and suggestions. Retailers know what you and I know

only too well: one of the biggest challenges of Christmas is what to get

those special people on your gift list. The ones who already have everything

they need. The ones who, upon needing something, have the financial means

to go out and buy it for themselves. The ones who never seem to like anything

you ever give them. The ones who don't ever do anything and therefore

provide no clues as to what to get them.

Because my father smoked, we

always had a couple of good ideas what to get him for Christmas. One year

I bought him his own cigarette-rolling machine. He liked to roll his own

at one point in his smoking pilgrimage. Then there was always the fancy

lighter you could buy him. In retrospect, however, we all wish he had

not smoked. But you get the idea.

But I believe that there is

an even greater challenge presented by the Christmas practice of gift

giving and that is the art, or grace, of accepting gifts. I have found

this far more difficult and perplexing than giving. And yet, if the whole

concept gets its full wrap, there has to be an acceptance of the same

joy that prompted the gift in the first place.

Think about those first Christmas

gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I am sure any poor Bethlehem family

would know what to do with some gold, but frankincense and myrrh? We still

hear about those three divine gifts because they were received joyfully

and treasured wondrously by the family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Gifts

are given because they hold significant meaning to the giver, not particularly

to the recipient. For example, what man would not be overjoyed to receive

a pair of presidential cufflinks? But wherein is their value? That they

were designed for the President, not you. To the visitors from the East,

gold, frankincense and myrrh meant a great deal to them and therein lie

their worth.

Let me first offer some suggestions

what you should never say upon receiving a gift. First, never say, "You

should not have." Are you really saying, "You should not have

thought that much of me because I really am not worth that much"?

gift and you should exclaim, "Thank you for thinking so much of me."

Second, never say, "I

don't think it's my size." The gift's value does not

reside in its size, but its motivation. Forget the size at the moment

and make over the selection of color and style. You can always return

it for the right size later on. Why kill the joy of giving by lamenting

over the right size? Size, smize!

Third, never say, "Where

did you get this?" You just as well may have said, "What cat

drug this in?" It doesn't matter a hill of M and Ms from where

the gift came. Rejoice that the gift is in your lap, given by someone

who cares for you and loves you. Rejoice is the word for receiving, not

suspicion.

Fourth, never say, "Oh,

what is this?" You will find out in time what exactly it is and its

intention. Now, as you open the gift, celebrate it as a generic gift.

"Thank you. Wow! Man, this is great!" are all in order and appropriate

for mysterious gifts.

The most wonderful gift I ever

gave was a 50-cent milk glass plant vase. What made it the most wonderful

gift of all was the joyous response from my mother as she opened the wrapped

box. I remember her words whispered to a nine-year-old boy: "Your

gift is the best gift of all." It was the least expensive gift my

mother received that year, but it was her joyous response that made it

the best give I ever gave. Thanks Mama!

John Hatcher is pastor of Outreach

International Center, 1091 South Jeff Davis Drive, Fayetteville, Georgia

30215. 770-719-0303

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