There are so many ways to describe this time of year. It is often referred to as the season of giving. Much is made of gift giving at Christmas and finding that perfect present can be difficult with all of the possibilities that exist. One of the most vital questions we face at Christmas time is: what is a good gift?

The world certainly offers many appealing suggestions to what a good gift is. Just check out your local shopping mall or scroll through your Facebook page.  However, all of these “good” gifts by the world’s standards are temporal and do not point to the real reason for this season. Christmas time is the celebration of the birth of our King and Saviour. His birth and life personify perfectly, a good gift.

“A good gift imitates the greatest gift to ever be—Jesus.”

So what’s a good gift? A good gift imitates the greatest gift to ever be—Jesus. By reflecting on the greatest Gift, I have found a great deal of encouragement and clarity finding good gifts this year and my hope is that you will too.

The most distinct quality of this perfect Gift is love. God, the model giver, revealed His love to us through Jesus Christ.Take for example the birth of Christ: it was because of God’s love for all mankind that He gave Jesus, His only son, as a gift so that we would have abundant life (John 3:16, John 10:10).

Jesus—being the exact representation of the Father (Hebrews 1:3) also faithfully demonstrates God’s love through service and sacrifice, leaving behind a holy example of a truly good gift.

Jesus came from heaven and humbled himself in service: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45). Yes, the most high God, perfect and holy came to serve us! We see through Jesus’ life that He served many through acts of kindness, miracles, and even took on the lowliest of form because of His love for others. More than that, Jesus’ ultimate act of servitude, next to becoming fully man—while still fully God, suffered and was put to death on our behalf. Without this gift we would still be under the hold of sin and death. This gift came out of sacrifice and fierce love. With this gift we receive freedom in Christ and are able to then fiercely love others because we now have Christ’s love to do so.  

“This gift came out of sacrifice and fierce love. With this gift we receive freedom in Christ and are able to then fiercely love others because we now have Christ’s love to do so.”  

As we prepare for the celebration of the birth of our Saviour let us consider the perfect gift we have received in Christ: Jesus’ love, service, and sacrifice.  My encouragement to you and my own heart for Christmas is this: Jesus is the best gift ever given and provides a perfect illustration for what we can imitate when contemplating good gifts this holiday season. Let us give gifts that serve others in love—ones that allow us the privilege to give of ourselves, help those in need, and ones that point to our Saviour.

Reflecting on this has spurred my heart to challenge my family to support a family in need in lieu of our traditional gift exchange. I challenge you to think about a good gift that exemplifies the greatest gift of all.

For good gift ideas that serve the needs of others around the world, check out Partners International Hope in Action Catalogue.