Editorial December 24, 2018 Issue

What will you give?

Robin Hoagland

The story is iconic. Three wise men. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh—gifts worthy of royalty. A destination of Bethlehem, where a child of prophecy has been born.

This nativity narrative with its roots in the Bible (see Matthew 2:1–12) has permeated the traditions of Christmas for nearly two thousand years. Perhaps it’s so familiar that we can lose the much-needed power of its message today. The gift-giving component has been lifted up and out of the story, and an abundance of material goods fills the carts of holiday shoppers. But without a spiritual context, this season can devolve into one of stress and exhaustion—quite the opposite of the joyful acknowledgment of a new era that these original travelers expressed.

So, what if we buckled ourselves into their sandals and looked at their journey with fresh eyes? What might make us interrupt our daily routine to go far outside our comfort zone and bestow something we value deeply ourselves on someone else?

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Bible Lens—December 24–30, 2018