In The Gift of the Magi, Jim and Delia express their love in the total sacrifice they make in order to buy each other a special gift for Christmas. Each gives up his or her most prized possession, of which they have only one, in order to obtain money to buy the other a special gift.
O Henry illustrates the nature of sacrificial love through the couple's behavior, and when they discover that they have each bought a useless gift for the other, now in light of their original sacrifice, they are content to bask in the love expressed by the others action to provide a special gift for the one they love.
Their love is pure, true and deep. Jim and Delila love each other not because of material wealth or for what the other owns, but for the depth of love that each possesses for the other. The fact that Jim and Delia are capable of making such a great sacrifice for love indicates that their union, their marriage is based on a lasting virtue, and not on superficial or temporary grounds.
Jim and Delia share a love that is both timeless and eternal, and O Henry uses the couple to illustrate the depth of love that is expressed by the three wise men who knelt at the foot of the manger that bore the Christ child.
He compares the love of this couple to the all powerful love that is expressed in the birth of the Savior in the Christian tradition of Christmas when the three wise men paid homage to him.
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