What do you like best about Christmas?
We love the gifts! We love other things about Christmas, but you’ve got to admit gifts are a big part of it. Let me point to one aspect of the Christmas gift we don’t always think about.
We enjoy giving gifts more than receiving them.
I learned a great principle from Chuck Swindoll’s The Grace Awakening. Swindoll wrote that giving is the source of our Christmas joy. Sure, we know the proper response is to say our joy comes from the birth of Jesus. But even non-believers enjoy the season, and they don’t give a thought to the birth of the Son of God.
Swindoll offered this challenge: When you open gifts this year, don’t watch the recipient. Watch the one who gave it. Listen to what they say. You’ll see and hear more joy from the one giving the gift than the one opening it
One year I gave family members picture frames made from curly maple. They may not have remembered it; for all I know those frames disappeared in a garage sale the next year. But I remember. I remember the fun I had planning, selecting the wood, and spending a few hours each evening working on them. The joy was in knowing why I was building them. I wanted to make someone else happy.
“It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
God did not send Jesus to earth in some serious, somber act. He did it with joy! He gave willingly and joyfully. He gave out of His love for us. I imagine God takes great pleasure in seeing us embrace the Gift He gave us.
God’s love and joy of giving to us is contagious. As we step into a life with Christ, we can experience a similar joy as we share the gift of salvation with others. There is no greater gift to give someone!
God, thank You for giving to us, and thank You for showing us how to give. I want to give to You by giving to others. Break through my self-centeredness and lead me to reflect You by giving with total joy and abandonment.
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This post supports the study “Embracing Joy” in Bible Studies for Life and YOU.
Podcast
Join Lynn Pryor and Chris Johnson as they discus this topic:
Lynn Pryor 
We love our beautiful frame that you made for us! It is in our office. Thank you again for such a beautiful and thoughtful gift. You are gifted in so many areas. Thank you for sharing the gift of yourself with us!
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