The Perfect Gift

The search for the perfect Christmas gift cycles around every year. It’s just something we accept as part of our human experience. Everyone seems to get swept up in the season. Growing up, my family was no different.

My father used to do a fair amount of international business travel when I was younger. He would often bring back exotic Asian lamps or African crockery earmarked for my mother’s Christmas celebration. She was usually thrilled to unwrap the surprises from the faraway lands, until the Christmas of 1994.

Dad was riding high on a few years of successful giftings, so perhaps he felt the pressure to outperform this season. Somewhere in Asia, he came across a portrait painter and commissioned him to turn his wallet size picture of my parents into a two-foot by three-foot painting. On paper, it read like a thoughtful, even romantic gesture. On canvas, not so much.

Now up until this point, I had witnessed 16 years of my mother being dramatically overjoyed by my father’s unconventional gifts from abroad. Every streak must come to an end. You could feel the energy leaving the room as she peeled off the paper revealing what is best described as an international artist’s rendering of my parents.

I really didn’t think it was all that bad. It was a little interpretive, but it was not a train wreck. My mother felt differently and repeatedly exclaimed that her image looked nothing like her. The moment passed and thankfully the distractions of Christmas morning diverted our attention elsewhere. It wasn’t until my brother and I reflected later that afternoon that we realized we couldn’t find that portrait. It had vanished. For years—decades—the painting became part of Little family folklore. My father’s attempt at “the perfect gift” had backfired for the ages.

While my family’s experience showcases a failure of “the perfect gift” attempt, I am reminded that Christmas is the season of the ultimate perfect gift that will never disappoint us.

Today, in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:11 CSB)

On Christmas Day we celebrate the arrival of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus is God Almighty’s gift to all of mankind. Faith in Jesus and His ability, by His death on the cross, to forgive us of sin, enables an eternal reconnection with God. Talk about THE perfect gift of all time!

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

In your busyness this season, in your quest for “the perfect gift” for everyone on your shopping list, don’t overlook THE perfect gift. Take time to receive from God. Meditate on His Word and His promises for your life. Experience the sweet fruits of His Spirit. Then turn around and give that perfect gift to all who cross your path. Let Christmas be a true season of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

In recent years, that old portrait of my parents was rediscovered in some dark recess of their home. It still has no place of prominence or display, but it has been recovered for posterity. Although it may represent “the perfect gift” gone wrong in our family history, to me it serves as a reminder to shift the focus from the unimportant aspects of the Christmas season towards the one perfect gift that will be remembered for all of eternity.

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Scripture is quoted from The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.