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Matthew 2:11 – 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 and of incense and of myrrh. (NIV)
My granddaughters each received a Christmas colouring and activity book from our church congregation. The girls were both delighted.
One day as Ade, the elder, was working on a page, she asked me to read the caption beneath. It was today's verse. We discussed the gifts of gold and incense and myrrh, and then, I asked her this question: "If you were there to see the Baby Jesus in the manger, what gift do you think you would give to Him?"
She looked at the picture in the activity book and thought about it for a minute or so and then piped up: "I would give him a Binky®" — a soother or pacifier. I was quite delighted and amazed at her answer. She had displayed real thought regarding the gift that she would give and how appropriate that it would be for a newborn babe. Her Binky® had also been one of her greatest treasures as an infant and toddler, which may have been what prompted her to consider this to be a very precious gift for Jesus.
As I pondered her response, I also considered how a Binky® measured up in comparison to gold and incense and myrrh. I wondered how many might laugh at this child's offering to Jesus, which wouldn't really seem like much at all.
It also caused me to think about how many of us feel that the gifts that we have to offer Jesus, as our Lord and Saviour, are not very much either, in comparison to what we may think or feel others have to give. Most of us are not wealthy or super talented or immensely gifted. Most of us are just simple, everyday people, helping out where we can, and thus, we often step back when it comes to using our gifts, instead of thoughtfully and courageously offering our Lord the gifts and talents that we have been given, small though they may seem to us.
But if we stop and think about it, which of the four gifts would the Baby Jesus have appreciated the most: gold, incense, myrrh, or a Binky®? That's a good reminder of how sometimes the smallest things are treasured the most and make the biggest difference in the lives of others.
Likewise, when we give our Lord what we have, ourselves, the gifts and talents that we have been blessed with, no matter how small they may seem, He loves and appreciates and uses and multiplies them in ways that we may never ever know about, until we see Him face to face and He says, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Prayer: Father God, may we take time to consider the gifts and talents with which You have blessed us, those things that make us who we are as individuals. As we do so, may we also take the time to present them as an offering back to You in prayer, to be used according to Your good will and purpose, knowing that as we do, we can also trust You to guide us in the best ways to use them for Your kingdom. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
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Beautiful prayer. Thank you and God Bless.
What can we offer? Our faith and sharing our faith.
Thank you, Lynne, for an interesting story and good application.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us. Blessings.
Thanks Lynne, children are so precious, and they show us how the small gifts can also be the most treasured. Blessings.
A cute story with an important lesson, Lynne! Thanks and wishing you and your family a Christmas season filled with peace, love, hope, and joy! God bless!
Lynne, a very moving encouragement! A Binky® may be small to some, but to a small child it is a genuine expression of giving something of value. I love the lesson here. Thank you.
I like the last paragraph of your devotional. I hope you don’t mind, but I want to quote on Facebook to stimulate my friends.
Know this — I really enjoy your devotionals and have for quite awhile.
We so enjoyed your story of Ade’s suggested gift for baby Jesus. How profound! The Binky® would be so very needed and appropriate.
Enjoy CHRISTmas and we wish you God’s richest blessings in the new year.
Thank you – what a perfect way to remind us that our simple everyday gifts do have real value – I laughed out loud in delight.
I am so grateful that you share your gift of writing – a gift as valuable as gold, incense, or myrrh.
What can I say that I haven’t said before. Your talent as a writer is a gift that “keeps on giving” and one I can share with my friends.
Blessing to you and yours.
Cheers.
So very true Lynne.
Wishing you a blessed Christmas and health and happiness in 2023.
Thanks for all your wonderful testimonials you shared this year. Looking forward to your 2023 messages.
Blessings.
Thank you again Lynne for your down-to-earth devotional today. Words so seemingly simple but just so meaningful and thoughtful for us to drink in and ponder in our everyday lives.
Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas together.
Blessings.
Dear Lynne,
Thank you for another beautiful writing connected with your little grandchild. How very thoughtful and caring of Ade to think of something so comforting for the baby Jesus. Blessings for another of your very special writings and showing a way of connecting children of an early age with the love of Jesus.
It seems as you are a regular writer, I’ve become familiar with you and your family. This was such an appropriate devotional and what a sweet reply by your Granddaughter, Ade. We all have so much to be thankful for, and the little gifts are precious too. May you and your family have a Merry Christmas and keep writing your interesting and thoughtful devotionals.
Hi Lynn, I loved the Binky®. I had never heard that word before and think it was a lovely gift idea. I also really identified with the prayer: “Father God, may we take time to consider the gifts and talents with which You have blessed us, those things that make us who we are as individuals.” I have realized that I am on the autism spectrum, the high end. However it means I have been an outsider most of my life. It’s only in my 50’s that I have come to appreciate what a gift that really is for me. Thank you for a wonderful, thought provoking Presbycan.
Dear Lynne
What a wonderful gift your granddaughter would give to the baby Jesus. It is out of our abundance and our love that we give what we can and have to Jesus. When we make those types of gifts Jesus not only welcomes the gift, but more importantly the giver.
May you and your family enjoy the great gift of our Heavenly Father as we enter the final week of preparations for celebrating the Birth of Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.
Merry Christmas and God Bless you all.
Hi Lynne,
I really loved your Devotional today. I think your granddaughter’s answer was really awesome for a young child. To her, her Binky® was a prized possession. It reminds us that even the smallest things can make a difference in someone’s life.
An awesome Devotional.
Thanks for Sharing your talents with us. You have a gift at writing Devotionals.
Have a wonderful Christmas Season.
Blessings to you and your family.
(Ontario)
Hi Lynne!
Thank you for giving me something to think about all day today. Bless little Ade, as a Binky® would be the perfect gift for a baby. I thought of my great granddaughter who would be hard pressed to give up her soother. There are times we gladly let her have it, to keep her quiet. It would be her most precious item, more precious than gold, frankincense, or myrrh. At times, it is quite precious to her family, too.
Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas and the much happiness and good health in 2023.
Thank you for your devotions.
(ON)
Good morning, Lynne,
I enjoyed your story about your conversation with Ade and her choice of what to give the baby Jesus. I think it is a great question for us to think about also and if we were there, what would we give as a gift to the newborn.
It helps to put the perspective that He was born just like we were into a regular family. He also lived for 30 years before He starts His work for why he came to live on the earth. He would have had many years as a young child growing up in an ordinary family and neighbourhood.
Thank you for the different perspective. I had one with yesterday’s devotional and setting up the nativity scene and another eye opener today.
Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing your perspectives. Blessings.
Very timely as we get caught up in the madness of pre-Christmas shopping.
Gifts to us today…
1 Hunk of Christmas cake from neighbours
2 Christmas card “May your Christmas season be filled with joy” (JOY, my mantra in Jesus) from Moslem neighbour.
3 Appointment with Dr, prescriptions to help crippling pain; first patient although walk-in.
4 Dear friend in building who doesn’t have internet being right at the elevator door when I took her a copy of an obituary.
“God is in the details”
BUT read about the tragic situation with PO. How much can one woman take?
Still praying!
Oh, the wisdom of children! Thanks, Lynne.
Good Morning
Praying every blessing upon you and yours this season.