The Gift of Christmas

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

In John 3:16, we see 4 gifts that God has handed out to us this Christmas
1. The Gift of love – I always feel like somebody’s watching me… its God and He’s got your back
2. The Gift of His Son – we no longer have to pay the ultimate price for our sins. This has been paid in full by God’s gift of His Son.
3. The Gift of belief – many in the world are looking for something to believe in.. for some its politicians, for others its science, for others its money in the bank or stocks… all of these have failed. Now we’ve been given someone whom we can believe in who will never fail us.
4. The Gift of eternal life – we no longer have to be afraid of death, we can know that life after death on earth will be a glorious, beautiful experience

This is not the end of the story however, the real story is about what to do with these gifts we’ve been given.

How do you react when you are given a gift? I personally love receiving gifts and don’t think I get enough of them. A gift makes you feel loved and thought about and it can be quite satisfying.

Giving a gift however can be quite dicey cos you can sometimes get unexpected reactions…
1. A gift could be rejected outrightly. For whatever reason, they don’t like you. They don’t like the gift, they cannot imagine what they’d do with the gift etc
2. A gift could be received but disrespected. E.g. food taken and immediately thrown away, or something received and never used. Reason could be that they do not trust the giver or they have no use for the gift itself
3. A gift could be received and treasured but the giver becomes a persona-no-grata. You take the gift but reject the giver.
4. A gift could be received treasured and the giver is appreciated in return with a reciprocal gift. This is the best reaction to a gift and something I would love to see if I give a gift too.

The question then is what is your reaction to this gift of Christmas, the gift of God’s love, His Son, His faith and His life.

God bless you as you consider this.