“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.“ Matthew 2:11

“"You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. . . And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around . . .” Exodus 30:1,3

“"Also take for yourself quality spices--five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane,. . . And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony;” Exodus 30:23,25-26

“'When anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it . . .  It is most holy of the offerings to the Lord made by fire.” Leviticus 2:1, 3(b)

Most of us have heard many times, every Christmas to be exact, that the wise men brought 3 expensive gifts to the baby Jesus, as told in Matthew 2:11.  The gifts each had spiritual meaning to the life of Jesus.  Gold was only owned by the rich and royalty, signifying royalty as the King of Kings.  Frankincense was a sweet smelling substance used in offerings by the priests, as Jesus is now our Chief Priest.  Then Myrrh was also a very pleasant smelling oil that was used to make an anointing oil, and also used to anoint a body at death to offset the smell of death.  We can certainly see that Jesus was the Anointed one, and He came to be our ultimate sacrifice to God.  Jesus received these gifts as a baby, but it is accurately stated that the coming of Jesus is the best gift this world has ever received.

As I studied and contemplated these gifts this week, I thought to myself what Christ wants us to give Him this Christmas (and all year-round.)  The song we sing, “I Gave my Life for thee” I think puts it all in the proper perspective.  Though he doesn’t need anything from us, (God being omnipotent, omnipresent, all-knowing, and owning the cattle on a thousand hills.) I know that he wants us to praise him and sacrifice for him.  We were made in order to praise God with our words and our lives (our testimony).  We also are called to bring our offerings to His house for His work.  The most essential element of our lives should be prayer to God, so that we have a relationship with him, and He will guide us, to show us how to praise him.  As the hymn says, “What hast thou giv’n to me?” (to Jesus) this Christmas?