"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by O. Henry (pen name of William Sydney Porter) first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. It is a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, and while it has been popular for adaptation, especially for presentation at Christmas time, it is a great illustration of the depth of wisdom that a pure unselfish, sacrificial love can have. If you have never read this short story, do yourself a favor and find a copy and read it. If you happen to be the sentimental type, keep a box of tissues handy. The couple in the story out of the love they had for each other were willing to sacrifice their greatest possession for the other. Della sells her beautiful hair in order to buy a nice watch chain for Jim’s beloved heirloom watch. When Jim comes home, he reveals that he has sold his watch to buy lovely combs for Della's hair. Though Della's and Jim’s respective sacrifices have rendered their gifts functionally useless, their love for each helped them maintain their good humor and decide to save the fine gifts for a later time.
1 Peter 1:22 says, “Seeing that you have purified your soul in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a heart fervently.” And Proverbs 24:3 says, “Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established.” Proverbs 4:7 tells us that “Wisdom is the principal thing: Therefore get wisdom: and with all thy get understanding.” We get the word "Magi" from the Greek word magos, which is translated as, “Wise Men." When God’s children, like the couple in O. Henry’s story, are willing to sacrifice their very best for another, they are showing themselves to be wise. Out of love for humanity God willingly gave His very best gift to us, His own Son on the cross for our sins. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Jim and Della showed their best love in giving their wisest gifts to each other, though their gifts came at a great price. God has shown us the wisest and greatest love gift the world has ever seen. God the Father’s embodiment of love and wisdom knew that humans were unable to keep the law that He had given, therefore God willingly and sacrificially gave us the one gift that would meet His ordained price for our sin: the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we learn that our great need is wisdom and understanding (Proverbs 4:7): the understanding of God's great love for us and the wisdom to live out in our daily lives the commandments of God Holy Word. The gifts of the Magi come from mingling God’s wisdom and love as we study God’s Word daily.
While O. Henry’s story gives us a touching picture of sentimental love on the human level. Calvary gives us an illustration of the depth of God’s pure love for us.
