Box it Up

Very often gifts are beautifully presented in boxes, just as when the Magi opened their treasures to present to Jesus. However, I was curious about why the day after Christmas is called ‘Boxing Day’ when all our gifts have been opened. Then I read that it came from the time when Queen Victoria was Queen and there was a tradition of the rich people boxing up gifts to give to the poor.

In addition, Boxing Day was traditionally a day off for the servants, and the day when they received special Christmas boxes from their employers to take home with them to their families. Nowadays some continue the tradition by giving ‘Christmas boxes’, or bonuses, to service people such as postmen, gardeners or domestic help at Christmas time.

There can be a sense of anti-climax on Boxing Day, because all the gifts have been opened and the anticipation of the special day is over. There can be a low period in the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day. As I was pondering this, I felt God suggesting that the last week of the year should be one of dealing with the past year and preparing for the next.

It can be a time of looking back and working through the issues of the past , and then ‘boxing them up’, and giving them to God, so that we can start the New Year fresh. We can then look forward to opening the new boxes that God has in store for us with a sense of expectancy, rather than dragging our old boxes, issues, and trials with us into the future.

In another way, just like the wise men, we can open up ourselves to God and give Him the treasures of our hearts. We can present the gold of all that is important to us, and declare that He is the most precious of all things to us. We can offer Him the fragrance of our worship, just as the frankincense emitted its woody, spicy fragrance to fill the stable with beauty. We can offer our gratitude for the medicinal myrrh of all the healing Jesus has done in our lives over the past year; and declare our trust that He will continue to heal us of our pain in the future.

Most importantly, we can thank God for the gift of His son, so that all our Christmases, and New-Years, and every day of the year, are blessed with the constant fragrance of His presence in our lives. Instead of feeling low, let’s know that every day to come is another gift from God our Father.