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Special gifts

Muriel Larson

Two thousand years ago, God sent to humanity the greatest gift ever given: His Son, Jesus Christ. When we receive God’s gift of salvation through Christ, God gives us a new life on earth and eternal life in glory.

The wise men from the East were filled with joy when they saw the young child Jesus. They fell to their knees and worshipped Him. The gifts they brought – gold, frankincense and myrrh – carried special meaning.


Gold is an item of great value, suitable only for a king. In giving it, the wise men were recognizing that this young Child was destined to become King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14).

Frankincense was a fragrant resin used by the Hebrews in the worship of God. With this gift, the wise men acknowledged that Jesus was God in the flesh. Presenting it to Him was an act of worship.

Myrrh, a sweet-smelling resin, is symbolic of death. It was used in preparing bodies for burial. This revealed that this young Child was born for the special purpose of dying. Jesus Christ came “to give His life as a ransom for many”, to pay for our sins (Mark 10:45).

How can we give meaningful gifts today to the King of kings and Lord of lords?

The Bible speaks of our faith being much more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7). Faith in the Lord is always pleasing to Him. He might consider it a lovely gift if we would stop fretting about things, completely trust Him and obey Him absolutely.

We give frankincense to Christ when we worship, praise and thank Him, when the theme of our whole life is: “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips” (Psalm 34:1). When we go to church, we can concentrate on having a spirit of true worship in our heart, let nothing distract us from worshipping the Lord, sing with our whole heart, join heartily in every prayer of praise and request, thank the Lord for the sermon and ask Him what He wants to say to us through it.

Myrrh is the hardest gift of all to give to the Lord Jesus. It is “death to self”. Dying to self means shaking off the shackles of all known sin and allowing Christ to live His life through us. In order for us to give myrrh to Christ, we must turn ourselves and our lives over to Him completely.

What gifts will we give to the Lord this Christmas? Will they be gold, frankincense and myrrh?

Muriel Larson is a freelance writer from Greenville, S.C.

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Last modified December 7, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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