Giving is Godly

I am sitting here in my living room thinking about Christmas. Not an odd thing to do on Christmas Eve, right? It is what we are supposed to do, expected to do. Yet, on a day where the house has been full of family and relatives, at this moment when one part of the family is delivering some gifts to friends and my two youngest daughters are busy making cookies in the kitchen, I find myself in a beautiful moment of quiet reflection.

I am sitting next to a Christmas tree with a few gifts underneath. We, like most families, have downsized our gift-giving the past several years. I think it is better that way. But I am thinking about why we give gifts at Christmas. Several reasons could pass the test: the most popular is because the wise men gave gifts to Jesus. It could also be to show our love for others; to bless those who are in need; to be a blessing to others; to give to the Lord in worship while we give to others; and the capstone, to mirror the glory of God in giving us a Savior, Christ the Lord.

Some celebrate Christmas by perpetuating far-fetched myths about where gifts come from. I won't name names. I do want to take you back to a historical figure that lived in the 4th century. There are many legends surrounding Saint Nicholas, aka Nikolaos of Myra, a 4th-century Greek Christian who became the Bishop of Myra (part of modern-day Turkey). Supposedly, he was hard-nosed when it came to the gospel and tender-hearted when it came to people in need. The story goes that he was thrown in jail as Christians were being persecuted under Diocletian and Maximian. When Constantine became emperor, he was released and returned to preaching only to find a new threat: Arianism. According to one biographer (writing five centuries after Nicholas's death), "Thanks to the teaching of St. Nicholas, the metropolis of Myra alone was untouched by the filth of the Arian heresy, which it firmly rejected as a death-dealing poison." Other biographers claim Nicholas attacked the heresy of Arius (who denied the full deity of Christ) in person by traveling to the Council of Nicea and slapping Arius in the face! That story, is probably just a fable, because there are pretty good records of the council of Nicea and Nicholas isn't mentioned.

Whatever the case, standing for the truth is good. I have also heard that as a pastor he would seek to meet the needs of the people in any way he could, at times sewing blankets for them and giving them whatever he had. Even if these things are legends is is good for us to stand for truth and meet the needs of others for the sake of Christ. It reminds me of Paul's letter to Titus, where he writes "for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior." He encourages Titus to "teach what accords with sound doctrine" (2:1), and to let "those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works." (3:8) He tells him to "let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful" (3:14).

So maybe the best reason to give gifts at Christmas is to worship God as we meet the needs of those in need. If so, as we follow these verses in Titus it ought to transform our giving and our lives. Maybe most importantly we give gifts because we who have received God's grace in Christ, namely Christ Himself (John 1:12), have the most reason to be thankful and generous. Our giving can become a part of our "confession of the gospel of Christ"(2 Cor. 9:13). That beats giving simply because it is expected. That kind of giving is what lead others to say "Thanks be to God for His inexpressible (indescribable) gift!" (2 Cor. 915). Our love for Christ inspires our giving to others. This can change and rearrange both how and what we give and our expectation of receiving. We have received the ultimate gift from God in Christ. We then give out of the overflow of hearts grateful to be forgiven and alive.

Most importantly, Jesus promises to give something to those who come to Him. John 3:16 tells us that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but should have eternal life." God gave. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest." Jesus promises to give us something. Then it is of utmost importance to know what it means to come to Him and what the rest is that He give. I believe there is a tie-in to John 3:16 here. To come to Jesus means to believe in Him. The rest He gives is eternal life. He gives eternal life, referred to in Hebrews 4:9-10, as a "sabbath rest for the people of God."

When we give we are like God. It is Christ-like to give what is good to others.