“A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.” Proverbs 18:16

“Give this to your wife and do NOT mention me!” It’s a line I used to influence men on the importance of ‘loving their wives as Christ loves the Church’ (Eph. 5:25). Women love candles… and I have a connection. Being a man, I know first hand that men are pigs! Being sensitive and giving are not typical of ‘dudes.’ And part of my job is to teach people to do and become non-typical.

One of my favorite things to do is to wrap up a candle in a used plastic store bag, hand it to a guy and tell him to pass it on to his wife. I’ll say, “there are 2 gifts in the bag. 1 for your wife, and 1 for you. YOUR gift is the appreciation you will get from her when you tell her you came across this and was thinking about her. Just DON’T mention me!” Which often leads to a sad, piggish confession.

“When I give this to her, she’ll KNOW it wasn’t from me!” men will often say. When I ask, “why,” they’ll admit, “cuz I don’t never do nothin’ like dis!” As I said, men are pigs! But to get from the pig sty to the palace, one must do and be different from what pigs do. Teaching men to be bigger and better than they usually are is part of the job. Demonstration is a good God teaching method!

Everything on this Earth, especially at Christmas, is about Christ! And everything about Christ is about God’s Grace and Mercy… NOT getting what we deserve but receiving what we don’t! My connection to The Savior is a long established one. But one in which I have SO much more to learn. Spending time with Him and His Word teaches me all KINDS of things this pig really needs.

The principle of God sending His Son into the world to save it is unfathomable. Jesus Christ was born… to die! He knew in advance what kind of death He would suffer. Not being a pig but a Prince, he wanted all mankind to join Him in the palace. To get that done, God used the idea of a gift to gain interest, and to influence those who would want to join Him.

Spreading light is God’s thing. 1 candle can light another… and so on and so on. It is important for me to remember that I was called to spread His light. To work on NOT being a pig, but to be the gift to teach others about the wondrous, matchless love and light of our beautiful Savior. I can’t think of anything greater or more enjoyable.

Are YOU God’s great gift to your family and those in your world? Or are you an oink?