“…and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

I love the Christmas season, especially the gift giving and receiving. Not the excess, stress and materialism that Christmas has come to represent for so many, but the simple demonstration of care and thoughtfulness that a well chosen gift represents. It’s as if for one brief moment every year, people everywhere pause to embrace God’s Spirit of generosity and love for the world. Stories of random acts of kindness fill the newspapers, many charities and churches receive generous donations, and we all return to watch classic holiday movies that celebrate love, family, generosity, and sacrifice. For followers of Jesus in intimate relationship with God, Christmas also provides a great opportunity to share the Father’s heart of love and generosity with those around us.

I have my own little story of Christmas generosity to share. For a long time I’ve been wanting to help Jeff & Mary McCormack with their ministry to Marines down at Quantico. Through CRU Military, Jeff & Mary, a group from GLCC, and others from local churches have been providing food and live music most every Friday at the Common Grounds Café in the Quantico barracks, which has been up and running for several months. On any given Friday, dozens of Marines drift in for free coffee, food, games, fellowship, and ultimately an introduction to Jesus. But Marines can really eat, and Jeff and Mary have been funding a lot of this food out of pocket.

Our family runs a pretty hot schedule and we can’t easily absorb a new ministry opportunity, but we CAN cook. So two weeks ago, I determined in the Spirit of Christmas to help out. I signed up to prepare a crockpot full of pork barbeque, sandwich rolls, and to bake a couple of my world famous chocolate cakes to bless the Marines. It was simple, all I had to do was prepare the food and drop it off at the church. So where do you go when you want to buy large quantities of food to cook for hungry Marines? You got it…Costco. So on a Wednesday night after Amanda’s holiday band concert, we all dropped by Costco to get a live Christmas tree, and pick up supplies for our little Christmas project.I picked up 60 rolls, an 8-pound pork loin, Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce, and a ton of other things for the family too. We were ready to roll.

As we approached the checkout, I heard a voice from behind me, “Merry Christmas, Pastor!” It was a more recent attendee of Grace Life who I’m sure I had met before, but frankly, had not had the opportunity to get to know much at all. He shared how he loved the church and had been keeping a pretty low profile, but was so excited and on board with our emphasis on discipleship and reaching out beyond our walls. He was so warm, engaging, and friendly.

As we began to load our cart onto the checkout, he said, “I want to pay for your things.” I protested for several minutes to which he continuously replied, “You are my pastor, I want to do this; you are my pastor, I want to do this.”

What a huge blessing and testimony of God’s intimate care and powerful provision. On the way home I had a great conversation with my kids about how when you follow God’s call to generosity, “He supplies all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19).” God certainly didn’t have to arrange this little object lesson of his faithfulness (He could have let us pay for the supplies like we were intending), but sometimes He just shows off!

Thanks generous GLCC friend (you know who you are!), and thank you Jesus for modeling generosity to us through Your coming to earth. Your coming inspires us to worship and to acts of generosity.

P.S. Check out Jeff McCormack and Mary McCormack’s Facebook page at “McCormack Military Ministry Partners Team” or www.McCormackcrumilitary.com