THE CHRISTMAS GIFT
Bright packages of different shapes and colours at the tree,
With bows of gold, and tinsel, so beautiful to see;
Yet these gifts are of no value or use to anyone
unless they're handed out with care and the wrapping is undone.
My life is like a package - I must give and share myself,
I am here to be a blessing, not remain upon the shelf;
My gift wrap may be wrinkled and lumpy, worn and tired
whilst the parcels all around are more appealing and desired.
It is the gift within me that is what the Lord can use
He wants me to be faithful, not to care what others choose;
So when I see, at Christmas, all the parcels on display,
It is the gifts that matter - the wrapping is thrown away.
Christ is the first, most precious gift God gave to all the earth,
And at this time we celebrate the wonder of His birth,
But the wrappings that surrounded Him were not what man expected,
a smelly, crude old stable, and the Son of God rejected.
So I should never feel despair if I was never made
to be the choicest package, as the wrapping will just fade;
For all external beauty soon ages and decays;
May my life be beautiful to God, and useful, all my days.
"Man looks on the outward appearance whilst God looks on the heart:. 1 Samuel 16:7b.
Reproduced by kind permission
SJA
