12 Days of Christmas – 7th Gift
Originally Posted December 20, 2013
The Twelve Days of Christmas is a traditional song for the holiday season. Each day in the song lists a different gift received over the course of the celebration. During the hundreds of years this song has been sung, the gifts have varied some, a few have changed position in the lineup, and a couple have been renamed due to the archaic terms originally used. However, none seem to have any real meaning except for joyful irreverence during the Christmas season.
The seventh gift we sing about is Seven Swans-a-Swimming. What spiritual meaning can we derive from the classically beautiful bird presented as a gift on the seventh day?
Look to Leviticus 11:13, where we learn that swans are a forbidden food. It is as well. Although beautiful from a distance, swans are noxious pests that disturb waterways, muddy clear water, and frighten off other birds with their size.
They will even attack people who venture too close to their nests.
If we are beautiful only from a distance, and we attack people who venture too close to us, how can we share the message of Christ with a poor and broken world? They will back away from us in hopes of finding safety, even if it leads them away from Christ.
Jesus came to bring peace to a hurting world, and if we follow his example, we will be kind to others, whether we feel beautiful or not.
The Swans-a-Swimming in that classic song? Not even extreme beauty can overcome a vicious attitude.
Our beauty is found in our love for the needy, not in how we appear to those who stand afar off.
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Code: FD.FGO.J.28.13b.vp