Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors. [Deuteronomy 15:10-11 (MSG)]

I have a friend who needed to rent a truck to bring home all of the gifts she’d purchased this last weekend. She said she still has twenty-six more gifts to purchase for Christmas. God wisely kept His hand over my mouth as I pondered her words.

The first Christmas gift wasn’t wrapped in a gaudy box and laid under an ornamented tree in a beautifully decorated home. The first Christmas gift was wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a feed trough in a stable. That first gift was a gift of sacrifice, forgiveness and love. Unlike today’s presents, that first gift will never break, go out of style, wear out, or need replacement batteries. The gift of Jesus is a present that continues to work it’s miracle of love and redemption. Lord, guide us so that the gifts we give at Christmas reflect your grace and not simply the depth of our pockets or the extent of our credit limits!

The best gift we can offer others is the gift of our time. A helping hand, a listening ear, simple words of encouragement and support: these are presents wrapped in love and caring. They may be small gifts handed out just now and then, but over the years they add up to so much. [Joel Osteen, from “The Christmas Spirit”]