The Gift of Christmas

The Gift of Christmas

 

“This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” NLT

 As a child, I knew only one thing about Christmas – Santa Claus!  Of course I knew the story about Baby Jesus born in a stable, but didn’t connect the two together.  It took a few more years for me to realize that the word, ‘Christmas’ was used to celebrate the event of the birth of Jesus, because it shows us the ‘Christ’ in Christmas.  Several years went by; years of joy and years of unhappiness.  There was always a yearning in my heart for something more in life and didn’t know what it was until the day he let me see what was missing; it was Jesus Christ.

He introduced himself to me 34 years ago and I would never be the same.  He took my sins and cast them in the depth of the sea, never to be remembered again.  I was forgiven of all the sinful things I did, or thought; I became a new person.  As time goes on I find myself being blessed over and over again.  I am so grateful that God sent His son to bring me out of darkness into His light.

You cannot experience Christmas for what it is, if you don’t know the Christ in Christmas.  Christmas morning, your heart should be full of joy and thankfulness for the gift of eternal life that he is offering.  Ask Jesus to be Lord of your life and he will stand by you in all circumstances.

Looking back, I can remember several special gifts I received at Christmas. The first one was my favorite doll, Ginger; white ice skates, my first skis, a stack of Nancy Drew books and my first lipstick.  I was very excited over all these gifts, but the greatest gift I ever received was Jesus.  When God gave his son, He gave the ultimate gift; his Son! We should really get very excited over this.

Let’s look deeper into this gift.  Why is it so great?

 Number 1: He promises that you will spend eternity in heaven while the alternative is eternity in hell.

 Number 2: We can live with abundant joy.

 Number 3: We can find peace and contentment.

 Number 4: We will never go without our needs being met.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.  When we accept the gift he has for us, all these good things will be given to us.  We read in the Bible about Joseph and Mary, who traveled to Bethlehem where Jesus was born.  The shepherds came and worshiped the Baby and the wise men came from a great distance to pay homage to the Child.  They fell on their knees before Him because they knew and understood who he was. 

That Christmas morning changed the entire world, whether others believe it or not.  It began with a tiny baby and will someday end with the King of Kings.  The Gift continues to give as it is passed on over the centuries.  The Gift is eternal! 

Won’t you think about this and when we accept the Gift; we must pass it on to others.  What other gift would last forever and ever?  What other gift would cost you nothing and yet be more valuable than any other thing this world has to offer?

 

Thank you, God, for giving me the Gift, your Son, Jesus the Christ.  He will be mine forever and I will also share Him with others.  Amen!