In the moment when we reach out to another person in love, we make ourselves the most vulnerable, and the deep hurts we can experience as a result can permanently change the nature of our relationship with that person, especially if the rejection of our loving gift happens at Christmas. 
 
 Why do we give anyway? 

We should give because we love, and love is not a feeling, it's a force that drives us to keeping doing things for our loved ones in spite of their rotten attitudes and the pain we may feel at being unappreciated.  We cook for our families whether they appreciate it or not.  We wash clothes, clean house, and so on, frequently to be taken for granted by those we're loving by doing these chores.  When we carry out our duties for those who may not appreciate our efforts, the depth of our relationship to Christ and His teaching will determine whether it deepens the family bond or adds to a pressure cooker of resentment.  The problems that accompany resentment and self pity are manifold. 

The more we focus on ourselves, the more our emotions wrap us in a tighter and tighter package, and while we may be smiling on the outside, we can be dark and ugly on the inside.  When the explosion finally comes and our resentment is revealed, it can be devastating. 
 
 Giving is God's nature.  He holds His creation in place, and creation continually gives.  The sun gives light, the earth gives water and food, trees give shade, and so on.  God gives us all that we enjoy, indeed, He gives us health and energy to enjoy all these things, and He is so patient with us. 
 
 Here's something else to think about; God is an old hand at feeling the pain of being taken for granted and rejected.  He so loved the world that He sent His Son (we all know that's the true meaning of Christmas anyway), and the vast majority of people couldn't care less.
 
 He gave His only begotten Son that we might have eternal life.  The advent of Jesus as Mary's little baby boy is the reason for our giving.  Because God gave Himself in the flesh of a baby who grew to be a man, we give each other gifts and food and holiday cheer.
 
 There will be a time in the future when Christmas will become totally meaningless to the world.  After the Rapture of the Church, when every Spirit-filled believer has been removed, Christmas giving is bound to stop.  As a matter of fact, the antichrist will probably make it a capital offense to celebrate Christ's birth! 
 
God's Two Witnesses will be the only Spirit-filled men on the planet, and through the plagues they bring on the earth and their preaching, some 144,000 Jewish men who didn't previously know the way of salvation will turn away from the antichrist, receive Christ, and worship God. These Jews will spread out across the face of this planet and preach Jesus so extensively that every person on earth can choose between the antichrist and Jesus Christ.  The antichrist will make it extremely hard on those who reject him as their god and choose Christ as Savior.
 
When the work of the Two Witnesses is done, God will allow the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit to overcome them and kill them in public, and everybody on earth will see their dead bodies.  The reaction of the world to is extremely interesting.  In Revelation 11:10, we read these startling words:
 
 "And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth."
 
In that future world, it won't be long until the antichrist realizes that the removal of Christmas from the calendar will be economically devastating.  A season of giving is absolutely vital to a healthy economy, and the antichrist's supposed defeat of the Two Witnesses will be heralded as a new season of giving, as peculiar as that may sound. Christmas will be illegal, but giving to commemorate the killing of God's prophets will be encouraged, most probably for economic reasons! But that new season of giving will be clouded by the resurrection of the Two Witnesses and their translation to heaven.
 
 We're created in God's image, thus each of us a desire to give, and Revelation 11:10 indicates that the desire to give gifts  will remain even after Christmas celebrations become globally illegal.
 
For the present, because of the advent of our Lord, we have an eternal hope that will never pass away.
 
 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."          John 1:14
 
How do you think God feels when we accept the gift of His Son but leave our Bible to gather dust while we gleefully tear our gifts open at Christmas.  Oh, there might be a nativity scene on the mantle, and we might even name the name of Jesus a couple of times, but most of us are so bothered by the Christmas rush that we may not focus the way we should on God's greatest gift to mankind. 

And it's no wonder that those who reject God's Son can expect an eternity in hell.  Can you imagine His pain at being rejected after so freely giving His only Son to die for all mankind?  The gift came, not because we deserved it, but because of God's grace.  Our own gifts should be given graciously, whether uncle Bob reciprocates or not, and whether or not the stranded motorist "Thanks."  Our attitude should be one of giving, and it should be that way all year long; not just at Christmas.
 
 Giving involves the use of power.  The word "power", when it is used in the New Testament, translates the Greek word dunamis, from whence comes our word dynamite.  The point is that some of our own power must be used each time we give.   Out of God's infinite power He gave us His Son.  And whatever power we have is ours for the purpose of giving.                 R.W.M.