What Gifts Shall We Bring Him?

​The bible tells us that after Jesus was born, the Magi went to Jerusalem to worship him, for they had seen his star rise in the sky signifying his birth.

When King Herod heard this news, he had a secret meeting with the Magi. He instructed them to go find this baby Jesus and report back to him the baby's location. Herod felt threatened by the birth of this baby who had been prophesied to be the King of the Jews.

Knowing Jesus' location would make it easier for him to get rid of the threat.

The Magi did go. They did find Jesus, But in line with instructions they received in a dream, they never did report his location back to Herod.

The bible tells us that upon arriving to greet the baby Jesus:

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

These gifts were of great significance.

GOLD symbolized kingship and Jesus’ divine royalty. Gold was a gift for a king, acknowledging Jesus as the King of Kings. FRANKINCENSE represented divinity and worship. Frankincense was used in temple rituals as a fragrant offering to God, highlighting Jesus’ role as the High Priest and the Son of God. And MYRRH foreshadowed suffering and death. Myrrh was commonly used for embalming, hinting at the sacrifice Jesus would make for humanity’s salvation.

It has me reflecting this morning, what are my offerings to the baby. What are my gold, frankincense and myrrh?

I think my writing is my gold. I believe my writing is an expression of the miraculous gift God has given me. A gift I use daily to honor Jesus as the King of Kings in my life, and in doing so, hopefully introduce others to who he is.

I think my faith and perseverance in trusting God through my life’s challenges are my frankincense. Whether through quiet moments of prayer, meditating on Scripture, or encouraging others to reflect on their own spiritual journeys, I try to create a fragrant offering to Jesus.

And my myrrh, my myrrh is the way I try to turn my personal pain into a source of healing for others. Through my reflections on divorce, fatherhood, childhood trauma, and mental health, I try to show others that even brokenness can become beautiful when offered to God.

More simply put, my gold shines through my creative gifts and wisdom. Frankincense rises in the worshipful way I try to live out my faith. And my myrrh is the way I try to offer my own scars as a source of healing and hope for others.

As we all follow the star the Bethlehem, I think it's helpful to think about our own gifts to the baby, our own gold, frankincense and myrrh. That baby in a manger is forever worthy of our gifts, and chances are we are all offering them, but maybe we don't take much time to reflect on them.

This Christmas is a good time to do that.

Reflect on our gifts to the baby.

And maybe in the reflection, become even more deeply committed to giving them.