Dear Friends in Christ,

One of my favorite Christmas stories is "The Gift of the Magi", by O'Henry.

$1.87: that's all Jim and Della had, and tomorrow was Christmas.  How could they ever afford to buy each other a Christmas present?  Jim wanted to buy some hair combs for Della.  Della's long blond hair was her pride and joy.  She loved her hair more than anything in the whole world.  Della wanted to buy a gold chain for Jim's watch.  The watch had been given to him by his father, and it was precious to him.  He loved his watch more than anything in the whole world.  The combs and the gold chain were the perfect gifts, but how could they afford them with only $1.87?

The next day, on Christmas Day, Della came down the stairs and greeted her beloved Jim.  But Jim just stared.  Della had cut her beautiful hair.  Jim was not angry or disappointed, but bewildered.  "Why did you cut your hair?  You loved your hair."  "I cut my hair off and sold it, so I could get you this present", Della responded.  Jim quickly unwrapped the present, and saw the beautiful gold chain for his watch.

Jim was quiet for a while.  Then he started to laugh, and then gave Della her present.  When Della unwrapped it, she saw the beautiful combs for her hair.  Della started to cry.  "How could you afford them?"  Jim smiled and said, "I sold my watch, to give you the combs."

Jim loved his watch and Della loved her hair.  But they loved each other more; and they gave up their most precious possession, for the one they loved.

On Christmas, God gave what was most precious to Him.  God gave His only begotten Son.  Christmas is God's gift of love to the world.

Merry Christmas,

Pastor Ron