The crisp winter night’s snow blanketed the ground. Smoke poured from a nearby chimney. I could smell the burning kindling wood. A choir sang… ”Come they told me pa rum pa pum pum. A newborn King to see pa rum pa pum pum.”
The young and the old love the Christmas carol classic, The Little Drummer Boy, written by Katherine Kennicott Davis. Its simple message tells of a poor boy who did not have anything extravagant to give to baby Jesus. So, the boy gave Jesus the gift of rhythm. He played his drum for the Christ-child, and Jesus smiled.
What would our gift to Jesus be?
It is easy to place a small gift in the offering plate at church and go on our way. But is there something of substance and significance that we can bring to Jesus? Think of what you could bring Him. If we were among the gathering that physically witnessed Jesus as a small child, what Christmas gift would you wrap for Him? We may not think we have anything significant to bring to the Lord, but I beg to differ.
The wise men brought him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold could represent Jesus’ royalty. Frankincense could represent prayer. And, Myrrh could foretell his death, since mourners embalmed the dead with this resin during the time of Jesus.
What can we offer our savior? There are three things I can think of that we can give. We can give Him our time, our talent and our treasure. These items may not be as extravagant as the gifts of the magi, but if they are given from a heart of love, they please the Lord nonetheless.
Giving of Our Time
First, let’s consider time. It takes time to wait at Jesus’ feet in worship. It takes time to absorb and meditate upon His holy word. And it takes time to listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.
Helping others takes time and can inconvenience us. Being the Good Samaritan in the true story of life takes effort and flexibility. And it may bring havoc to our neatly laid-out schedules.
When we prioritize going to church, we are gifting Jesus with our time. When we share the gospel with the hurting and the lost, we are using our time in a way that blesses our Lord and Savior. Jesus said whatever you do to the least of these you do to me (Matt 25:30).
Giving of Our Talents
Another way that we can give to Jesus is through our talents. The little boy in the familiar Christmas Carol gave his drum playing as a gift to the Messiah. You too may play a musical instrument. Will you use it for His glory? Your talent may be in administration. Will you use your gift to bless the church? There are myriad ways in which we can serve our Lord with our talents.
Will you be intentional about using your talents to serve and worship the One who saved you? If you do, your life will be a sweet-smelling sacrifice to the Master.
Giving Of Our Finances
The third way we can bless the Lord is with our finances. We don’t have to be rich to give of our substance. The Lord is most interested in our hearts and not as much as the amount we give to Him and to His work. He wants us to give willingly and joyfully into the kingdom. If we have been richly blessed, our giving should reflect that. If we have little, we can still bless the Lord with a portion of our finances. Jesus commended the widow who gave what’s equivalent to a fraction of a penny. Why? Because she gave all she had from a heart of love.
The Bible says that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also (Matt. 6:21). It matters what we invest in. If we give to missions and to the poor with a pure heart, our investment will draw us closer to the Lord.
The little drummer boy’s example shines for us all. Let’s give not only to our friends and family, but also to the Lord. Let’s give our time our talents and our treasure this Christmas to the One who saved us. Let’s devote ourselves to him in worship, prayer and Bible reading– be available to Him and His kingdom by surrendering to him our time, talents and treasure.
If you are not sure what talents you have to offer, seek the Lord and he will gladly show you what your talents are. Then, we can offer them for kingdom pursuits.
Again, seek the Lord how much we can offer of our financial resources. This can be done through giving a portion of our finances on a regular basis to our local church, and then through offerings for things like missions, kingdom-related projects, as well as to the poor.
Like the drummer boy, we may not think we have “great things” to give our God, but let’s give whatever is in our hand, and God will receive it with great pleasure. And the next time you hear that old familiar Christmas Carol, I hope you will sing along, and allow it to stir in you a desire to give the Lord your all.
I have found myself meditating on this article since it was posted- thinking of all the varied ways I can bring my gifts to the Lord. Thank you, Tom, for reminding me there are so many ways to do so.