Christmas is right around the corner, and most of us are busy getting ready to find the right gift to give each person on our list. Sometimes we even exchange the first gift because we find a better one. We forget that the first Christmas was very simple, Joseph and Mary looking for the right place to bring the baby, who would one day bring salvation. Should we be asking, are we putting so much time and energy on things which are fleeting? Should we be thinking of how we are to relate to a child who is asking: what is Hanging of the Greens all about or what is advent? Maybe we should be thinking more of the event when God gave us the gift of HIS Son.
God is the greatest giver. The truth that Jesus Christ is the “gift” of God who had far reaching impact on the world. Not just at the time of His birth, but even today. By forgetting that Christ is a gift, we tend to forget the Father’s compassion for us. Secondly, if Christ is the “gift” of God then we should acknowledge the Father’s GRACE. There was no obligation of God to mankind who had strayed away from the creator. As sinners we do not have any right to expect such a “gift.” It is altogether unmerited and undeserved. The Father giving the Son was an expression of the purest form of GRACE.
If Jesus is the “gift” we can see the concern of the father to bring us back to Himself. He gave His son to die on the cross so our fellowship will come to a full circle back to Him. So one thing is obvious that only those who have received the “gift” can become part of the family. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Christ was a king who came not to take, but to give. His gift was the ultimate sacrifice and therefore each of our Christmas gifts bring the focus back to where it should belong.
So, let us remember what the “Gift” is–this Christmas season. Here is a Christmas prayer to go along with our gift. “Please Lord Jesus forgive me for being so grumpy as I trudge through the never ending tasks set before me this holiday season. My to-do list seems to keep growing with shopping, church services, and family gatherings–and I’m running short on time! Restore the joy of Christmas to my heart…and help me to relax each day and make time for YOU…my one true source of Joy. In the name of Christ my Lord, Amen.”