"For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son..." you remember it, don't you? That very first important verse you learned in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School. But can you say it in its entirety? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Yes. The gift. The most important gift of all...everlasting life! And God gave it freely to anyone who would accept His gift...that's right, all you had to do was open your arms and accept... and did you?
Gifts! Everyone loves gifts. The beautiful wrappings, the bows, the ribbons, the pretty paper! There's something wonderful about making a present look beautiful. And oh, how the receiver will appreciate the gift and be filled with excitement upon receipt. Gifts and giving of gifts...so much emotion is tied into the choosing and into the giving, and then there's the love...the BIG LOVE that comes when the perfect gift is chosen for that special someone...all the care...all the time spent in picking out the perfect thing...
There's a story I heard once, about gifts. I'd like to share it with you and hope you'll understand more about the importance of gift giving. Some years ago, a missionary in a small coastal village in East Africa was explaining to kids, who never had anything of their own, why believers give gifts to each other on Christmas day. "The gift,” she said, “is an expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus and our friendship for each other." When Christmas came, one little boy brought the teacher a unique and a very beautiful seashell. She asked, "Where on earth did you ever find such a beautiful shell?"
”There’s only one place,” the lad said, and he named an isolated bay several miles away.
So taken by the beauty of the little shell and how far the child had to go to get it, she finally stammered: "Why ... why, it’s gorgeous ... wonderful, but you shouldn’t have gone all that way to get the gift for me." His dark eyes brightened to match the beam of his smile as he explained, "Long walk part of gift." Each step of the way, the child anticipated the joy his gift would bring as he trudged the many miles to bring it back. Do you understand? Do you get the picture?
That story made me think about the gift God chose for us...Jesus. His gift was specifically chosen for you and for me. And in His choosing, God took the long walk from Heaven to Bethlehem...the long journey was part of the gift. He chose to travel from paradise to a dingy, dark manger; from that hay-filled stable to a cross; from that rugged cross to a borrowed tomb; and from the grave back to heaven. Have you ever wondered why He went to all that trouble to give us the perfect and best gift? Can you hear our gracious Heavenly Father whispering to your heart..."long walk part of gift?"
When all the unwrapping is done and the paper and bows are strewn across the floor, don't forget to unwrap the most important gift of all, Jesus. Don't leave Him underneath the tree. Don't forget the BIG LOVE with which the Father chose the gift...
Unwrap the Gift of His Love.
You may be wondering how you can unwrap the love of Christ. The easiest way to unwrap His love is to accept Him as your Savior. Believe He is who He says He is! Take the free gift He has given you. If you haven't done that yet, it's the first step. I'm so grateful that Christ loved us so much that He wants to take us to Heaven to be with Him. I also love the fact that His love sustains us while we're here on earth. Every day I wake up, I find the love of Christ. The love of Christ is one of those gifts that we need to share with others too. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!
"[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]" Ephesians 3:19
Nothing can take that gift of love away from us either. The Bible says so!
"Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:39
Unwrap the Gift of Grace.
God's BIG LOVE is filled with gifts! Another gift we can unwrap is the gift of grace. Through Christ we have access to that wonderful grace that's given to us. Not a gift we deserve, but because of Christ has chosen to give it to us.
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1,2
"But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." Romans 5:15
"That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:7
Unwrap the Gift of the Resurrection.
This is one of those gifts that it's worth getting excited about. Without the resurrection of Christ, we have nothing.
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." 1 Corinthians 15:17
When we unwrap this part of the gift and dwell on it awhile, we should get really excited!
"Now sin is the sting of death, and sin exercises its power [upon the soul] through [the abuse of] the Law. But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:56,57
" Praised (honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 1 Peter 1:3
Unwrap the Gift of Inheritance.
Because of Christ, we can become heirs of God. Now that's a gift! Just knowing that we will inherit all the good things He has to give us...all of His attributes, all of His wonderful qualities, everything that is His will be ours too! And all because our loving Heavenly Father wants to give...to bless His children...
"[Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you" 1 Peter 1:4
"The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God. And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory." Romans 8:16-17
There's so very much we are given through the gift of Christ. The ones listed are just some of the things we gain with a life in Christ. Can't you just see it? It's like there's a huge Christmas tree and the bottom is stuffed with gifts and the branches are weighed down heavy with gifts tucked in just for us. We have wonderful and precious promises, strength, the Holy Spirit, peace, joy, and so much more because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of Christ our lives can become so full, so rich, so meaningful.
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10
On Christmas day, have you ever seen a tree with the gifts left unwrapped? I haven't! Most of us don't leave our gifts unwrapped under the tree. We want to see what's inside. Maybe we should spend more time in the Word and in prayer finding those things that the Lord would have for us. Perhaps we should spend more time saying, "thank you" for our gifts and appreciate them more. I know I need to work on this. I don't want to miss out on anything or forget to say "thank you." I want to make sure I am grateful for the most precious gift of all. I want to make sure I don't forget to unwrap Jesus.
"For God so LOVED (with the biggest love EVER) the world, that He GAVE (He chose, this gift specifically for you and for me) His ONLY begotten Son (the most precious gift He had to offer), that WHOSOEVER (anyone...everyone...) believeth in Him would not perish (would not die an eternal death in the fires of hell receiving just punishment for their sin) but have everlasting life (a life always in His presence enjoying all He has to give us forever)....
"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:9
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." You can’t work for what is freely given. Romans 4:5
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:36
It’s the NEW life that puts your name in God’s book. The righteousness of Christ, himself, is deposited to your account.
"For he (God) hath made him(Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
The REAL Christmas is that GOD who so loved the world ... that he gave his only begotten son ... that whosoever believes on him should not perish ... but have everlasting life.
If you don't know Jesus...if you don't have Him in your life, you can have His free gift of salvation. It's there for the asking! All you have to do is pray this prayer and mean it from the bottom of your heart: Dear Lord Jesus, Please forgive me. I am a sinner. I have sinned against you by not keeping your commandments. I know I am lost and I need a Savior. I want to be sure that when I die, I will go to heaven. I can't do anything on my own to get there. I can't ever be good enough...no matter how hard I try. I believe you are the Son of God. I believe you came to earth to die on the cross for us...for me...you came to die for me! Even if there was no one else on the earth, you still would have come and died for me...because the Bible says that the wages of sin are death and sin is whenever I deliberately disobey your laws and choose my own way over your way. I know that you promise everlasting life if I believe in You. I choose, as an act of my will, to believe in You. To believe that You are now in me and I am in you and that we are one! I believe that God sent you to earth to die on the cross but on the third day, you were raised from the grave and now you are forever at the right hand of the Father. I submit my will to yours and I ask you to come into my heart and become the Lord of my life. And I know that if I ask, you hear my prayer and answer it because of your great love for me. Thank you Lord for coming into my heart and saving me! I have accepted your free gift of salvation and I will live my life for you from this day forward. Amen.
So, have you unwrapped all of your presents? Have you unwrapped Jesus?
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