Meaningful Gifts

Have you ever been given a gift by a stranger? Most of the time, you'll paste on a smile and offer some insincere thanks. All the while wondering, what am I supposed to do with this thing? Never had one, don't even want one.

Occasionally, strangers can get it right. But most of the time, gifts mean more when they come from someone who really knows you. That's when you unwrap the gift and it's perfect. Just what you always wanted.

"For I desired... the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings." Hosea 6:6

We are supposed to give things to God, but more often than not, our lack of knowledge about God is apparent in those gifts. They aren't at all what God wanted from us.

For example, it does not please God for me to neglect my kid in order to prepare a Sunday School lesson. I should sacrifice my own time, not my kid's. (Something I needed to learn earlier this year.)

Or maybe I'm cramming at the last-minute on a Saturday night after everyone else is fast asleep (hey, I'm not stealing from their time now! But am I really doing any better?). I could have/should have studied earlier in the week, but I mismanaged my time (or purely wasted it).

A last minute "throw something together and it will please God" also does not please God when we could have/should have done better.

So how do we know what to give God?

Get to know Him!

Getting to know God will help us know the perfect gift.

It will be like hunting for the perfect Christmas present for your loved ones. You aren't happy until you know they will love it. Sometimes, we get it wrong, and thankfully, if your family is nice, they'll understand the thought and the love behind the gift.

But doesn't accidently getting it wrong make you all the more determined the next year to get it right? We just keep spending time with them until we know them so well, we know what they want. And that's what God wants from us. For us to know Him. Really know him.

The difference lies in our knowledge of Him.

The better you know God the more meaningful your gifts to Him will be. So, this Christmas get to know Him.