The Gift on Christmas

Scriptures: But after had had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name of Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. "(Matthew 1:20-21)

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, after the service and the pot-luck, a few brothers and sisters were talking about going to some huge sales event. They encouraged each other to bring enough clothing so they can stay warm through the night. When I heard this, out of my ignorance, I asked why they had to prepare for the night. They laughed at me and told me that people would line up, even days before the sales began, so they could get in the store early enough to get what they wanted. This is amazing, especially when you take into account the problems we are having in our economy. Yet, that’s part of the reality we live in.

Everyone loves gifts and this season of Christmas has been said to be a season of gifts. That is true to the extent that Jesus was a gift from God to us. Just about every gift we received, either for birthday or anniversary or other reasons, was for our own personal use. But this gift called Jesus is definitely different. He is a special gift that came with a mission and with glorious revelation.

The angel told Joseph that this son he was going to have should be named “Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) Jesus wasn’t just one of the gifts. He wasn’t just any gifts that you can find in a store. He was THE GIFT that God sent us for a purpose. That purpose was to save us from our sins.

For this purpose, He was made lowly and poor. For this purpose, He endured sufferings and injustices. For this purpose, He was listed among the criminals. For this purpose, He was nailed to the cross. His birth had everything to do with His death and resurrection. I wonder how often we missed the tie between Christmas and Easter when we celebrate Christmas.

If we can see the hope beyond the cross and the grave on the Easter, what can we see beyond the nativity and the gifts on Christmas? Now, if “though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich,” (II Corinthians 8:9) then what should we learn from this act of divine giving from God?

This divine gift of God was a life, this man called Jesus. More than that, Jesus was a life through whom God saved and transformed lives. Jesus accomplished the mission entrusted to Him. Now this mission has been entrusted to His Church who has been the only people in the world willing to acknowledge the receipt of this divine and eternal gift.

I sincerely pray and hope that, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and ponder on the meaning of this historical event, we do not lose sight of the significance and purpose of His coming then. More than that, I pray that we will all be fired up again by His humility and faithfulness in carrying out His mission and be willing to respond to the calling He has for each one of us in like manner. I am convinced that the best gift anyone can give any time is the gift of an eternally reconciled relationship with God in His glory!

Prayer Request:
For Christmas gift shoppers

Prayers:
Gracious Father, thank You for willing to give us Your Son Jesus for our salvation. Help us to go beyond the act of giving and truly learn and remember the heart and the purpose You had behind this divine giving. May You bless our acts of giving this Christmas so they can be used by the Holy Spirit to touch and transform others in Jesus’ name, as was intended in Your giving. We humbly ask in the glorious name of our Lord Jesus, Amen!