Shimmering lights, joyful music, sweet aromas, comfort foods, warm embraces. Christmas has a way of awakening all our senses. The season’s joy and hope give us a glimmer of the peace on earth God gives and will give in ways we cannot fathom, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
For some, this Christmas is stirring up pain. If so, be encouraged by the story of that first Christmas. In God’s divine plan, He sent us His Son to a cold and dirty barn, wrapped in rags, and held by his indigent parents. Understanding the significance of that baby lying in an animal feeding trough, wise men traveled many miles to see the promised Messiah that would rescue His people. They brought gifts used to honor kings as a way to say to Jesus, “You are the King of all kings.”
Today, we give gifts to our loved ones, harkening back to that day. We want to make Christmas special. We look and listen for what our family and friends wish for this year. And in so doing, it is no surprise that when we give that perfect gift, it feels like we have received a gift as well. It is by God’s design, who taught that it is more blessed to give than receive.
As special as it is to give gifts to loved ones, the foundational way to connect with the reason for the season is by bringing gifts to Jesus like the wise men, declaring to him “You are the King of kings”.
But other than giving Him our hearts, what gifts does Jesus want? He wants us to provide for the hungry, thirsty, lonely, naked, sick and imprisoned. In Matthew 25, Jesus calls them “the least of these”. He says that what we do for them, we do for Him.
It can be hard to sift through all the factors that help us decide how to give when we are surrounded by more needs than we can meet. The Missions Team here at Grace Capital Church has done the leg work for us this Christmas. They’ve researched and vetted to determine where financial contributions can make an eternal difference. They are inviting us to put “Grace House” on our shopping list. In partnership with Rwanda Children Educational Foundation and with Global Benefit, we can provide a home for a Rwandan family whose house was washed away in a recent flood.
In a place far away, in a land most of us cannot imagine, are children living in leaky shacks with parents eking out a living so they can send their children to school, giving them a brighter future. Many of the children are being raised by single moms - a lasting result of the pain and relational destruction created by the 1994 genocide where nearly a million Tutsi’s in Rwanda were killed.
We can honor the King of kings this Christmas with a gift to a Rwandan family in need. Pastor Mark is asking us to make our “best [monetary] gift to Jesus.” He encourages, “If you are getting $10 gifts for people, give a gift of $11 to Jesus through the “Grace House Project". If you get people $500 gifts, then you would give $510 to Jesus and help build “Grace House”.”
Asking for money is not always comfortable but we can be both blessed and challenged this year by Pastor Mark’s ask. When addressing money, Jesus tells us that where our hearts are, there is our treasure. God also tells us that He will give us the desires of our hearts.
What is on your wish list this year? Is it a desire that is fleeting? Material gifts are good and we are to enjoy them, but they can never take the place of the best gifts that can be given by the only one who knows the true desires of our hearts. God knows that at the core we all want to invest our lives in what is meaningful. The one who said it is more blessed to give than receive knows that just as we are blessed when we give that perfect gift to a loved one, we will be blessed when we give to the least of these.
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Have you experienced what it is like to be what Jesus calls “the least of these” - hungry, thirsty, lonely, naked, sick, and imprisoned? We want to hear your story.
Do you have a need that is going unnoticed or unmet? Tell us about it.