It was a snowy 1971 Christmas morning. I was pastor of Lakeview Lutheran Church in Madison, Wis. I awoke early and was on my way outside to shovel the drive and walks when I tripped and flew head over heels into a snow bank. The object over which I fell was a snow-covered 50-pound bag of birdseed.

I read the attached card: “This is an odd gift, and you may be like Mary who pouted and said, ‘Myrrh? What kind of present is that? What I really wanted for Christmas is some Huggies.’ However, this gift is like Mary’s gift of a Savior, the only way you get to enjoy it is to give it away.”

I spent Christmas building a steepled bird feeder and put it up in the back yard. Soon a blanket of cardinals appeared. All wore deep red caps and sported tuxedoed vests. They perched in the feeder and ate with a jauntiness that matched their royalty. A flutter of chickadees joined the cardinals. Shyer birds would pick up a single sunflower seed and fly off to their private perches for their Christmas feast. Watching the gulping blue jays, I noted that in their haste they scattered seeds on the snow below. There, the sparrows could feed as if they were the “dogs who would eat the crumbs that fell from the master’s table” (Matt. 15:27). No wonder Jesus selected this plain, brown bird to illustrate God’s gracious love: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of these will fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge” (Matt. 10:29).

Some gifts that we receive are like the birdseed my friend gave me, enjoyed only when we give them away. Christmas is such a gift. We hold it in our hands, but we can never package it, or set it on the mantel to display. We never completely own it. It’s kind of like a cat; no one ever owns a cat. God blesses us with the gift of Jesus, but some keep trying to claim it as their own gift and their own property. It can’t be done. The gift can only be lived. Christina Rosetti puts it so memorably: “Love came down at Christmas, love so lovely, so divine. Love came down at Christmas, star and angel gave the sign.” Yes, love came down at Christmas and the love of Christmas will warm our hearts only when it is given away.

I know that your Christmas will be joyous if you make a resolution to each day do a kindness in the name of Jesus. I know that your Christmas will be merry if you follow God’s Christmas example and give the love of Jesus away to all whom you meet.