<div>Still trying to find that last minute gift for someone special? With only seven shopping days left, maybe I can offer you a little assistance.</div> <div> </div> <div>Several years back, on Good Morning America, Joan Lunden featured some gift ideas that were a little over the top. For instance, one of the gifts was a Jaguar automobile, the Jaguar 220 to be precise. If you wanted to order one, you could go down to your local Jaguar dealer and put down your $80,000 deposit. Then, when your Jag was delivered, you could pay the balance of $507,000. That's right, the total sticker price for a Jaguar 220: $587,000 each.</div> <div> </div> <div>Another item that Lunden mentioned was a $300,000 gold and silver toilet seat inlaid with precious stones. Of course, there were cheaper gifts for those who may be on a tighter budget: an $18,000 frisbee, a $10,000 yoyo, a $12,000 mousetrap, and even a $27,000 pair of sunglasses. And for the proud grandparent who is wondering what to get the new grandchild, how about a $28,000 pacifier?</div> <div> </div> <div>Such gifts stagger the imagination, really. Or, they embarrass us for their gaudiness and ridiculously poor stewardship. Maybe, just maybe, they also remind us that the best give you can give at Christmas is not something you can afford anyway. In fact, the best gift we can give is a gift that has already been given. </div> <div> </div> <div>No, I'm not talking about re-gifting. I am talking about sharing the gift that Christmas is really all about, Jesus Christ.</div> <div> </div> <div>Though He wasn't talking about Christmas, the apostle Paul wrote of giving in 2 Corinthians 9, as he instructed the church in Corinth to take up an offering to give to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. He commended the Corinthians for their eagerness to help and reminded them that those who sow generously will also reap generously. Then he closes out the chapter with a reminder of the source of all of our giving: "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (v. 15)</div> <div> </div> <div>That's what Jesus was, and is--the indescribable gift. Better than any extravagant automobile, toilet seat or yoyo...and better than any of the toys on your list this Christmas. Why don't you share the love of Christ, and even the "good news of great joy" that His birth introduced to this dark world, this Christmas. It will be the best gift you could ever give. Indescribable, even.</div> <div> </div> <div>I pray in this season of Advent that you and your family are cutting through the clutter and truly focusing on "the reason for the season." I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.</div> <div> </div> <div>--Pastor Ken</div> <p>]]</p>