December 21. I cannot imagine a more effective way to lose your Christmas spirit than shopping the weekend before Christmas. I avoid it every year, but this year, I promised to finish all shopping and wrapping by the end of the day on the 21^st. The 22^nd is birthday day at our house, and this year I especially want to bless my birthday people with a Christmas-free day.

So did I accomplish my goal? Almost. I still need gifts for a baby boy who needs NOTHING! He would not notice if he actually got nothing, but his 10-year-old sister would not go for that. At this point, I am seriously considering filling his stocking with Starbucks gifts cards. A happy mom is the best gift a kid could receive, right?!?

I battle with gift giving every year. I LOVE giving gifts. That isn’t the problem. I even enjoy wrapping them if I am not rushed and if I have some good music and a hot beverage to enjoy. But as someone who tries desperately to limit shopping during the rest of the year, Christmas shopping for me is like a dam bursting open. I discover treasure after treasure that is just perfect for the recipient. Having seven kids to shop for only magnifies the problem. I set limits then I break them. Then I feel guilty for breaking them, and before long, the joy of giving is overshadowed by guilt.

Today our pastor preached on the Gift of Righteousness. It was a powerful and very timely sermon on this passage: “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17, NIV)

Pastor Dan taught about double imputation and gave me a deeper perspective of the Gospel. His sermon gave me new revelation on the gift of righteousness God gave us through Christ and the gifts that continue to bless us as people, who by no worthiness of our own, stand righteous in the eyes of a holy God. There is no greater gift to be given or received—ever.

But the sermon also gave me a new perspective on gifts that our pastor probably did not intend. I have always thought of the custom of gift giving as a memorial to the gifts the Magi brought to Jesus. In fact, when our family “killed” Santa several years ago, that is one tradition we implemented—three gifts per child in honor of the Magi’s gifts to Christ. But today, as I listened to Dan preach about this ultimate gift our Father gave us through Christ, I realized that it is not the Magi that I emulate in my gift giving but God the Father who lavishly bestows upon His children a gift they can never deserve.

It is not the Farher’s gifts I emulate but the Gift Giver. I know I cannot give my children presents remotely that significant, but I can grant myself permission to be lavish in my gift giving to the extent that our budget allows. Limits and restrictions are fine—and necessary most of the year—but if I couldn’t resist the cute little Frozen character figures and hair ties that I saw today even though Lydia’s gifts are wrapped and under the tree, that is OKAY! And I need not be plagued by guilt or even overwhelmed by the crowds in the stores. I can and should enjoy the process of searching for, purchasing, and wrapping gifts that my family will (hopefully) love because that is how the Father feels about His gifts for me—the ultimate gift given once for all and the daily gifts He gives just because He loves me.

Thank you, God, that I am a daughter of the King who lavished extraordinary gifts on me that first Christmas. I want to bless my own children as lavishly as I can, so that I can receive the joy of giving, and so they can know the love of their earthly parents, though it is but a tiny fraction of Your love for them. Keep my attitude about gift giving in alignment with Your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV)