Christmas Day Blog Post

The First Christmas Gift - more than what meets the eye

"For God so loved the world He gave His one and only Son that, whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

This verse is a proclamation of the very first "Christmas" gifts ever given.

God sent His son to the world.  He wrapped him in flawless humanity and GAVE him to a flawed world.  The Creator became creation for our benefit simply because of the love God had for us.  Not because we deserved the gift or had put it on our list of things we wanted.  Simply because of his love.  That flawless human gift would walk life and experience what we experience.  He would not be a gift that was aloof, that was unaware, that was misinformed but he would be a gift to the world that understood, that experienced, that lived in and amongst the pains, trials, sufferings, burdens and hardship of the flawed human life.  He was to be a gift that understood and loved with compassion, grace and mercy.  The gift was to be the Ultimate display of the LOVE of God.

But this was not the only part of the gift, no there was more....

This perfect, understanding and love filled gift was given with one main purpose.  This gift was to redeem, to pay the price of sin for a world of flawed humans.  The price for sin is death!  It does not matter what your social status is, your ethnicity, your level of education, you bank account balance, nothing in all of creation can be given to pay the price of our sin except for one...The life of that flawless human gift, God's one and only Son.  That flawless gift was given to be our replacement and pay the cost for our very personal sins.  To give us all FREEDOM from that debt. It was a second part to an already awesome gift.

But guess what?  These were not the only parts of the gift, you guessed it there was more....

Death would not hold onto the flawless gift given by God.  No, this flawless human would rise from the dead in victory and bring with him the third part of this gift,  Hope!  This precious gift that was given as a display of God's love and understanding, that paid the price for our sins, kept giving and rose victorious from the dead to offer us HOPE!  The challenges, the hardships, the pains, the struggles, the _______________ (you fill in the blank) that we face in our flawed human lives is not the end, is not the climax of existence.  There is a life, an eternal perfect one, beyond this flawed one we live in now.  There is hope beyond today.  There is hope beyond our pain.  There is hope beyond our sadness.  There is hope beyond whatever heaviness that tries to bind us.  This life is and was never meant to be it.  We have a opportunity for something so much greater.

That original Christmas gift that God gave us almost 2,000 years ago was a tri-fold gift from a Triune God!  But it is a GIFT, which means that we need to receive it, to accept it, to BELIEVE in it.  It is the only action we need to take in order to receive everything good this gift hold for us, that this gift want for us to have.

If you have already received this gift, if you have already ask the Lord into your life and believed in Him, then I encourage you today, Christmas Day (and every day really), to give Praise and Thanks to God for His gracious love given to us.  Give Praise and Thanks to God for his sacrifice and our freedom.  Give Praise and Thanks to God for a Hope that can never be taken away from us.  Give God Praise and Thanks for the gift he gave, the only one that has eternal benefits, his son Jesus Christ.

If you have never received this gift then I encourage you today to take a moment and talk to God and tell him you want and need to receive, to believe in this precious gift that was given for you.  I can guarantee you that life will always have it moments of disappointment, sadness, failures, and challenges.  It will never be able to produce for you what that first Christmas gift can.  Open you heart and let the Lord in.  It hasn't always been easy but I am so very thankful that I did.  I hope you will too.

I wish you all a blessed, joyful, and Christ filled Christmas.  And as always I am here if you should need or want to talk.

Merry Christmas to you all!!!