Today the plan is to wrap and write. No, it’s not some new writing technique. I literally have to start wrapping Christmas presents . . . and write at least 2,000 words in my work-in-progress.
I have to admit that wrapping is not my favorite thing. I LOVE the buying. I LOVE thinking of someone and coming up with the perfect gift. If I had my way, I’d rush from the store and immediately give the gift to the person I bought it for. Wrapping is just a necessary chore that I do to conform to the standards set by society.
The truth is, that I’m gonna pay my kids to do most of my wrapping for me. Yes, a few years I had my kids wrap their own gifts. Gulp. Partly because I don’t like wrapping, and partly because I was so excited to show her what I got her. Sigh. I can’t do that this year though. They want to be surprised on Christmas morning. No fun!
Of course, the gift-giving that we get all crazy and excited about is supposed to represent the gift of Jesus being sent down to earth. Too often, I forget this when I’m pushing my shopping cart through WalMart and trying to find that “one thing” for that “hard to buy for person” and find “something that won’t cost and arm and a leg.”
This morning though, as I was reading in John chapter 17, I discovered something REALLY cool. I discovered what Jesus is giving YOUR family and friends this Christmas. It was right there in black and white . . . or in this case since I have a red-letter Bible, red and white. Check it out:
“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. And all of them, since they are mine, belong to you, and you have given them back to me, so they are my glory!” John 17:9-10
There is a lot of giving going on. God gave us to Jesus. Jesus knows we belong to God. And we are Jesus’ glory. (So where does the gift that Jesus is given to our friends and family fit in?)
Check out that part, “So they are my glory.” My study note in the NLT Life Application Study Bible says,
“What did Jesus mean when he said ‘they are my glory’? God’s glory is the revelation of his character and presence. The lives of Jesus’ disciples reveal his character, and he is present to the world through them.”
So I have to ask: Does your life today reveal Jesus’ character and presence? If so, Jesus is present in the world through you. And that presence is a present to your friends and family!
Today, I have a long list of things I need to do that deal with presents. But my prayer is that in the midst of it, Jesus’ presence (through me) will be a gift that I can share. The cool thing is it’s one I don’t have to wrap and I don’t have to wait to give … perfect!
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this time of year when we remember and rejoice in your great gift to us. Help me not get too wrapped up in the things of Christmas, but rest in the meaning of Christmas. May my life reflect your presence and character and may it spread to those around me.
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