A Gift Idea
Personal Talents and Traits
“Gift”
You have probably heard someone say something like:
God gave us the Greatest “Gift” of All – Jesus Christ, His Son.
While this is not only amazing! and true, God also gave personal talents and characteristic traits to everyone in His creation – even those who reject Him. This challenge or test is to see if we can recognize these “talents and traits” amongst our family and friends.
Because Christmas and Birthdays are usually a time of gift-giving, this challenge is for every family
– Christian and non-Christian alike.
I want to preface our awareness of these gifts with the knowledge that, although Jesus commands us to remember His death with The Lord’s Supper, He does not require that we celebrate Christmas or His birth. Later this year, I hope to write about how we can know the time of the birth of the Messiah Yeshua, our Christ.
In any case, here are the thoughts I had. If we really want Christmas to be about the birth of Jesus, then He should be the center of every aspect of the Season. A few years ago, in attempting to break away from materialized gifts, I presented my children and their spouses, individually, with a personal written word that I believe God gave me for each of them; the following year, as a Christmas gift, I gave a poem about things that God was preparing to do which seemed applicable for everyone.
The Test or Challenge
The name of every family member (who is old enough to understand or willing to partake in the venture – maybe 6 years old and up) is put on a separate piece of paper and put into a container from which everyone then draws one name (do this months ahead). The challenge is for everyone to discover, to the best of their ability, the God-given character-trait and personality-talent that person (whose name they drew) possesses. If you are very perceptive, you may already know the answer, or you will need to discover it by observing that person’s behaviour (again, to the best of one’s ability: God helping you).
Once discovered, write these virtues out in a manner of a gift-blessing, and wrap it accordingly.