ADVENT DAY 21 (I Can Be Strong in Him): Giving Because He Gave

The apostle Paul reminded us in the book of 2nd Corinthians that when we are weak, God is strong. We have access to His incredible power in order to live a consistent, even countercultural Christian life under the control of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 73 says:
23 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand.
24 You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
26 My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

We are directed in Galatians 5 to walk in the Spirit, and we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Because Jesus is alive - and alive in us - His power is now available to us. But, it has to be activated, released, so that He can accomplish His will through us.  We can choke off the flow of the power by sin or selfishness. But, if we are yielded to Him and allowing Christ to have His way through us, amazing things can happen by the power of the Spirit.

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We are now on Day 21 of our 25-day walk through the Faith Radio Advent Guide, entitled, Because of Jesus.... We are considering what He has done for us on the cross and what we have as believers in Christ - not material possessions, but spiritual blessings. Our Day 21 theme is: "I can be strong in Him," and the accompanying Scripture is found in Romans chapter 8:
10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Do you have all of your Christmas shopping done?  Within the next few days, the last-minute shoppers will be on the hunt for the perfect gift, which can be challenging if you are purchasing gifts for those who have everything. 

Economically speaking, there are indications are that people have been planning to buy more this Christmas.  A Gallup survey, the last one of 2023, found this, according to a summary on its website:

The total amount Americans estimate they’ll spend on Christmas or other holiday gifts this year averages $975 in Gallup’s final 2023 reading, taken in November. This exceeds consumers’ holiday spending estimate from a year ago by more than $100 and is the highest in Gallup’s November measures historically since 1999.

The summary notes: 

Both the recent and year-over-year increases seen in consumers’ November holiday spending estimate run contrary to the implications of Americans’ continued pessimism about the economy and relatively sluggish overall spending in October, according to recent Commerce Department data.

During roughly the same time period, those surveyed responded to this question: "How would you rate economic conditions in this country today -- as excellent, good, only fair or poor? 50% said "poor."  Only 2% said "excellent" and 17% said "good."  But that $975 figure is an average - broken down by economic groups, the survey reported this:

The large increase since last year in holiday shoppers’ November estimate of what they’ll spend is mainly explained by Americans in middle-income households. This group -- those with an annual household income between $40,000 and $99,999 -- plans to spend $947 this year, on average, up more than $200 from last year’s $709. By contrast, there has been minimal change in upper-income Americans’ already high estimate of over $1,400 and a slight decline in lower-income Americans’ estimate, slipping from $477 to $429.

Almost 9-in-10 survey respondents indicate that they were planning to take part in "holiday shopping."

So, Americans may be spending more during this holiday season. But, I think we have a responsibility to consider, as in all matters financial, to determine how we are spending our money.  And, the gifts that have the most meaning may be the ones that we give to someone for someone else. I remember that my wife, Beth, who has taught seminars on how to have a more Christ-centered Christmas, shared about an idea called the "white envelope," in which a gift is made to a charity or charitable project in the name of a person; the person is informed that this has been done in his or her name. 

I went online and found the original article from Women's Day magazine in 1982, written by Nancy Gavin.  It was published on the Bible.org website. She wrote:

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas … oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it—overspending. The frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma … the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike.

Her inspiration came from seeing a wrestling match, in which her 12-year-old son participated, in which the opponents were from an inner-city church. They were lacking in equipment and even their clothing was insufficient.  Nancy came up with an idea, and she wrote:

That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me.

Year by year, she gave to others in need; she said: "It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure."

Mike died of cancer, but Nancy, even though it was difficult to prepare for Christmas, still managed to place an envelope on the tree. She said: "...Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad."

She closes out by saying, "May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always."

God gives us the strength to do what is right.  When we are discouraged or weighed down with grief and loss, we can turn to the One who loved us so much that He died on a cross so that we might have life and have access to His strength.  Mike Gavin was not fond of the over-commercialization of Christmas, so Nancy, his wife, decided to cut through it and reflect the character of Christ by being sensitive to the needs of those less fortunate. 

In a way, it's encouraging to see that people are spending more on Christmas presents, if they're truly celebrating our Savior's birth...but if it's just a worldly ritual, we miss what Jesus came to give us.  Perhaps we can consider how God would use us to give of ourselves so that Christ will be exalted and the needs of others will be addressed.  Sometimes it takes being countercultural in order to make a significant impact - God will give us the strength to do that; the strength to obey, the strength to be a witness...the manifestation of His resurrection power moving through us.