Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Gifts

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Matthew 2:9-11
Behold, the star that the magi had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.

They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

In dusty boxes hidden away there are letters and stories from forty years ago, written to me and by me. My mother has two pictures on her wall that I remember were on my grandpa's wall fifty years ago, and they were old then. Remodeling upstairs at our house I found a small card proposing the election of W. G. Spurgin for County Judge in Champaign County on September 15, 1910. Now nearly one hundred years ago.

These are treasures. For me treasuring usually comes down to tracking time with words or pictures. Mementos like this take me backward from now through then into a new appreciation of both.

God is alive, the magi are afoot. What if I was one of those magi guys? Must have been months before Jesus birth that one of them mentioned to his friends the strange new thing he'd seen in the sky. Maybe more than one of them noticed it, which made it easier to decide how to respond. Mounting a trip like theirs took money and time, energy and determination.

All these treasures God gave them, and they gave it right back to him. I read the few Bible lines telling their story and am captured by their example - their courage, communication with each other and cooperation with God.

Jesus' parents didn't take pictures. But that made their stories all the more precious, and they told Jesus these stories. When did he begin noticing the parallels between his life and what he was reading in the prophets? Did Jesus get goose bumps like I do, when he read what Isaiah wrote of future "caravans of camels from Sheba bearing gold and frankincense, proclaiming the praise of the Lord" (Isaiah 60:6)?

Jesus in his life on earth ... the magi ... all of us get time to find the way to God. He's right there, winking and waiting with arms outstretched, where I saw him last time. Once again I want to share something Lori Borgman wrote, about the "gift" of the coming year:

I know, it's huge. Who has room on a closet shelf for that? You can weave patterns of living that give beauty and grace to each day. You can build routines for waking, showering, getting ready and build in a few moments of quiet reflection. You can blow through it like a straight line wind, work 16 hours a day, nod to the kids and fuel up with black coffee.

Then again, you could set aside some time for sharing meals, wandering through the woods and visiting with friends. We all struggle with a gift of such size - how many squares on the calendar to fill in, how many to leave free, how far out to plan, what's important and what's not.

You have opened up your treasures for me, Lord. Let me see my days as packed with one way and another to give mine up to you.

Devotions Archive

Gifts

Sunday, January 6, 2008