The Three Wise =
Men went to see baby Jesus, and “presented unto Him gifts; gold, =
frankincense, and myrrh.” These are simple words, but if we analyze =
them carefully, we discover an important, yet often-overlooked, =
theological fact: There is no mention of wrapping =
paper.
If there had =
been wrapping paper, St Matthew would have said so:
v 13 =
“And lo, the gifts were inside 600 square cubits of =
paper. And the paper was festooned with pictures of Frosty the =
Snowman.”
v 14 =
“And Joseph sought to throw it away, but Mary sayeth unto him, =
`Holdeth your camels, Joe! That is nice paper! Savest it for next =
year!’`
v 15 =
“So Joseph rolleth his =
eyeballs.”
v 16 =
“And the baby Jesus was more interested in the paper than the =
frankincense.”
But these =
words do not appear in the Bible, which means that the very first =
Christmas gifts were NOT wrapped. This is because the people giving =
those gifts had two important characteristics:
#1. They were =
wise.
#2. They were men.
If we learn =
anything from this about Christmas, men are not big gift wrappers. =
Men do not understand the point of putting paper on a gift just so =
somebody else can tear it off. And no one ever had to wonder which =
presents men wrap at Christmas. They are the ones that look like =
enormous spitballs.
My point is =
that gift-wrapping is one of those skills — like having babies — that =
come more naturally to women than to men. In conclusion, remember that =
the important thing is not what you give, or how you wrap it. The =
important thing is that you save the receipt.
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] =
www.grif.net
"Jesus =
Knows Me, This I Love!"