While you are reading this, my wife, Carrie, and I are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. Starting 10 years ago, I decided to give her something to go along with the traditional wedding anniversary gift for the corresponding year. Year 10 was pewter, and I found a rose made from pewter that symbolized “a decade of marriage that can bend without breaking, showing resilience and stability” (thanks, Wikipedia).
I didn’t really think about giving a traditional anniversary gift the first 10 years, but they were OK ones to skip—like paper (year one) and fruit (year four). Have plenty of that lying around. I like the idea, however, that the gifts say something. Even though paper seems like a lame first anniversary gift, the meaning behind it represents “a blank page, new beginnings, endless possibilities of a new life together” (Wiki).
When the wise men brought gifts to the newborn King, there was no Wikipedia or Pinterest page to describe how to lay out the red carpet for this King that the star had led them to. These wise men knew the prophecies and received divine revelation as to who they were visiting. They brought gifts with purpose. These gifts were to tell the story of who this baby was and what he had come to do.
Gold: A kingly gift for the one who is the King of kings.
Frankincense: A fragrance used in temple worship that points to Jesus’ divinity.
Myrrh: A burial and embalming spice that foretold the sacrifice Jesus would make for the redemption of mankind.
But Matthew points out something easy to miss when we read this story. Before they even opened their gifts, the wise men bowed down and worshiped Jesus. It’s easy to get caught up thinking about what we can offer Jesus and miss that first and foremost, Jesus is worthy of our worship.
Take time today to put away the striving and performing, the worrying about whether you have anything to offer worthy of a king. Take a moment to simply worship him for who he is and how he has come to give you peace.
The 20th anniversary gift is porcelain. Now, I am writing this before she opens her gift, but I’m going out on a limb to say my wife loves what I got her for our anniversary this year!
Reflection:
- What is a gift you have received that had meaning for you? What made it special?
- What gift have you given to someone that had special meaning to you?
- How can you adjust your thinking to place worship at the center of this coming year and not on what you can offer to God?