What’s your favorite Christmas song?
Maybe you’re a classic Christmas song person; White Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. The current hits could be your cup of tea: All I Want for Christmas is You. Or you might be a Christmas Carol type of person; Silent Night, O Holy Night, Come Let Us Adore Him. Whatever song you love, this season is great, because there is a good opportunity to listen to these songs and let them fill your heart with joy.
For me, my favorite Christmas song is The Little Drummer Boy. As a young boy, I can remember hearing this played on the radio or sung in church. My brother and I even did a duet of this for our kid’s ministry Christmas program when I was 8 or 9 years old. This song has remained one of my all-time favorite songs. Obviously, this isn’t a historical narrative. There was no drummer boy at the manger. Honestly, how rude would you have to be to walk into the room with a newborn child and just start drumming? I can imagine that Joseph and Mary would have had words with that young boy.
All joking aside this song was meant to show us the meaning of this season. As I’ve gotten older, the words of the song mean much more to me now.
“Come they told me
A newborn King to see
Our finest gifts we bring
To lay before the King
So to honor him
When we come.”
Did you sing the “Pa rum pum pum pum” as you read the song? Yeah, me too. What a beautiful idea we see in these words as we realize that our finest needs to be brought to our King. How often do I bring my finest to God? I’m not sure I want to answer that question honestly. When they say finest, I think of my best and my first of everything. I’m a little embarrassed to think about the times I have given God my leftovers. My end of the day prayers where I’m half awake. My serving only when it fits well into my life schedule. The money I have left after I have bought the things I want or took care of all my bills. Do I really prioritize my FIRST and BEST to Jesus?
Proverbs 3:9-10 says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
In Luke 6:38, Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
We, as believers in Jesus, are called to give with a happy and grateful heart, and to let our generosity pour out. This isn’t to pay for our salvation, but it is meant to be an outflow of the great thankfulness we have for what Jesus did for us. We are showing gratitude for the fact that Jesus came to be WITH us in this world. He chose to give his life for us. He chose to give up his throne on high and lower himself to our status in life. You see, Jesus wasn’t a powerful king or born to a rich family. He came as a normal child to a poor family. What he had to give wasn’t power or wealth, but something far more important: our salvation!
The Little Drummer Boy notes this when the song says:
“Little baby,
I am a poor boy too,
I have no gift to bring,
That’s fit to give a King,
Shall I play for you,
On my drum?”
This little boy had nothing to give but the talent God gave him. And he chose to bring that gift to Jesus. And the song later says, “I played my best for him”. Reminds me of the story where the poor widow comes to bring her gift and all she has is two small coins and the religious elite scoff at her. But Jesus rebukes them when he tells them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:43-44
Are we giving our best and first to Jesus just like the little drummer boy and this poor widow? You might not be wealthy or have all of the best things according to the world’s standards. I want to remind you that the world’s standards are not God’s standards. God says, “Give me the best of what you have and watch what I can do with it.”
As you prepare to celebrate the birth of our savior this Christmas, please don’t forget that we, just like this young boy, should come before our King and give Him the gift of our best. In our time, our talent, and our finances.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
-Chris
I want to thank you and invite you to continue your generosity or to consider partnering with White Oak in your end-of-year giving. To be included in your 2024 giving for tax purposes, be sure to include your gift before December 31, 2024.
You can do so by going to www.thewocc.com/give.
Chris Emmons
Ross Campus Pastor