The Golden Gift of Christmas

Dr. Stephen Olford said, "Gold is the currency of worship."  One of the favorite stories surrounding Christmas time is the visitation of the maji to the house where Jesus was as recorded in Matthew 2: 1-12.  We don't know how old he was but we know he is no longer in the stable (verse 11) and he is less than two years old (verses 13-15).  

These "wise men" were astrologists who had been fascinated with the star seen from the east.  They followed it to Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem to find the young Child.  There they presented gifts.  Where did they get these gifts?  Most likely they had them simply in their possession from home thinking they might have had to sell them to finance their trip.

Three gifts were presented which often causes us to believe there were three of these men but we don't know that for sure.

* Gold - Gold was for the king.  It is the most precious and valuable metal of them all.  By giving it they were acknowledging Jesus as the King.

* Frankincense - This was used by an incense used by priests in temple worship.  By giving it they were acknowledging Jesus as a priest - the One who can bring us to God.

* Myrrh - This was a fragrant ointment used to anoint a body for burial.  It had a bitter taste.  But giving it they were acknowledging Jesus had come to die for the sins of the world.  From the cradle, you can see the cross.

They brought gifts for our King, Priest, and Savior.

But gold is what gets my attention here.

Gold is not only the currency of worship but of God.

Gold was overlaid on the mercy seat in the Temple.  This mercy seat was where God met man to forgive their sins.  This seat was a wooden box representing the humanity of man and it was covered with gold representing God.  This was a picture of Jesus who was both human and divine.

Haggai 2: 8 "The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine," says the Lord of hosts.

Revelation 21:21 "And the street (singular) of the city was pure gold, ..."

God owns all the gold!!!

So when we come to worship, we should bring our gold - the best offering - to emphasize the importance of worship in our life and to honor the King to whom we give.

But there is one thing more precious to God than gold.

I Peter 1: 18-19 "knowing you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver and gold, ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot."

The blood of Jesus is more precious to the FAther than gold.  

So what this says to me is this...we are to bring our best (gold) offering to God for worship, but what He honors the most is the presence of His Son's blood on us.