Any child who visits with Santa this time of year will be asked the same question. I have even found myself asking my girls, “What do you want for Christmas?” With limited money to spend, we all want to get our loved ones a present that they want, need, or at the very least – could use. This got me to thinking about our heavenly Father. What would He want from us?
I’ve come to the conclusion that the present that God wants is our hearts. Proverbs 23:26 says, “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe My ways.” The children of Israel were reminded that God led them through the wilderness to find out what was in their hearts. “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no” (Deuteronomy 8:2) David, the man after God’s own heart (I Samuel 13:14), realized that God didn’t want a heart that was sinful. He prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalms 51:10), and “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation” (Psalms 51:12).
So, that’s what our heavenly Father wants from us – not just for Christmas, but at all times – He wants our hearts. And if we give our hearts to Him, then, we will keep His commandments. We will do all that we can to live our lives in such a way that heaven will one day be our eternal home. Have you studied God’s Word to see what He wants you to do to become a Christian? Is your worship scriptural and acceptable in His sight? Are you putting God first? “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). May you “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not upon thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Simply blessed, Courtney