Matthew 2:11
“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”
The birth of Jesus Christ is no doubt the best known story around the world. It would be hard to go to a place and find someone who has not heard of the birth of Jesus Christ. One of the events of His birth were the gifts the wise men presented to Christ. Many look at these wise men as men of wealth, but the Scriptures don’t tell us if this is true.
One thing we know about these wise men is they came to Jesus and presented Him with three gifts. These same three gifts should be presented to Christ by every Christian. No, I’m not saying go down to the store or bank and purchase these things, but each of these gifts represent something far more valuable to God.
The first gift presented to Christ was gold. Gold is representative of our substance and material wealth. Every Christian needs to come to a point in their life where there is nothing that God cannot have. Everyone struggles in this area. There are many things we tell Christ He can have, but there are certain areas that seem to be off limits. For instance, every week Christians give their tithes and offerings to God and this is good, but if God laid on their heart to give something else of value to Him they would struggle. Let me ask you, what is it that you hold back from God? What is it that if God asked you to give it to Him you would hold back? It’s not that God would ask you to give it to Him, but it’s the fact that you are not willing to give it to Him. Everything we have, including our children, should be available to God if He were to ask.
The second gift these men presented was frankincense. Frankincense is representative of our service to God. Frankincense was often used in religious worship in the temple. Every Christian should offer their life as a tool for God to use in His service. There should never be a restriction of what God cannot ask you to do. You should be willing to serve God in any ministry in your church. Furthermore, you should be willing to serve God in full-time service either in your homeland or abroad as a missionary. It does not matter what your age may be, you should be willing to serve Him if He were to ask. Too often we put age restrictions on surrendering to serve God, but that is not found in the Scriptures, in whatever area God asks you to serve Him, you should be willing.
Myrrh was the third gift given to Jesus. Myrrh was an ointment used as a perfume. It represented the innermost thoughts and feelings of a Christian. Every Christian should open their heart to God. When God has your heart, He has you. I’m amazed how we are willing to open up anything to God, but not our heart. When is the last time you spent with God and poured out your whole heart to Him? He can be trusted with your heart. Very few people should ever have access to your whole heart, but God is certainly One Who should have access to it.
Have you given these three gifts to God? I find the whole being of a person is found in these gifts. I challenge you today to give these things to God. Tell God that He can have any of these areas, and when He asks you for one don’t hold it back.