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I couldn't resist posting one more pic of the Nativity set from Holy Cross. I am struck by the gifts that the Magi brought to the Christ child. These were gifts that would mean nothing to a toddler but meant everything to those who gave them: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Yet it seems that the gifts we bring to Jesus fall short of the gift that comes with the child.
"Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and starts. The Father doesn't change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon." James 1:17 God's Word Translation
The perfect gift is the baby.
What makes our gifts acceptable is not the quality of the gifts nor the sacrifice that lies behind the gift. What makes the gift acceptable is the one who makes us acceptable. Just as we have been declared good through Jesus' death and resurrection so have our gifts.
That doesn't excuse us from bringing our best to the baby. In fact, quite the opposite ought to be true. The more we understand the perfect gift that God has given the world the more we ought to desire to bring God our best.
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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2015 Douglas P. Brauner. ARR.
After listening to your sermon yesterday, shouldn't the setting of the picture be at a house instead of still at the manger?
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