Little Drummer Boy is one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Come, they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A newborn King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before a king, pa rum pum pum pum …

I can so identify with the young boy in this song. Later, he wonders, what can I bring to a king? What gift could I possibly give that would be of any value to one who has everything? All my material possessions, both now and throughout my lifetime, would scarcely amount to a pitiful drop in the vast ocean of a king’s treasury!

But, the song continues. This poor boy recognizes his inferiority, his helpless estate and so offers the one and only thing he can: himself.

Shall I play for You? Pa rum pum pum pum.

This small boy offers his talent, however meager and seemingly insignificant it may appear to the others around him. He plays his drum for the king. He plays his best for him. I imagine his little hands gripping the sticks and occasionally hitting the drum slightly off rhythm every so often. (Much like how I feel as I attempt to love and serve my neighbors here in a foreign land.) But, his “mistakes” matter little, because he isn’t playing for me, nor for the others around him. He is playing for his king, and it is the king’s opinion alone that matters. The boy is giving his king his heart … and his gift is received with a smile.

Then He smiled at me. Pa rum pum pum pum.

And so it is with us.

This Christmas, let us bring our gift to the King. It need not be well-polished, nor impressive to the outside world. It need only be from us – from a heart of adoration and worship of Christ, which is precious and treasured in His sight.

“For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

The form in which the gift takes, whether it be playing a drum or singing for Him, baking cookies for neighbors, praying with a hurting friend, opening our home to a lonely heart, matters not. It may even be embarrassingly off-key in places, and that’s okay, because it is real. And Jesus loves real. Simply let it be overflowing with love – motivated by the love that has already been abundantly given to us in that manger long ago. A gift which came to us at a very high cost and was wrapped in a most unexpected and “unimpressive” package … but was infinitely priceless beyond compare: Jesus.

Merry Christmas and happy gift-giving!