The Perfect Gift

With December 25th rapidly approaching, gifts have been made or purchased and are now being wrapped, in anticipation of our CHRISTmas celebration.  Each December 26th, I make out my list for the next year’s gift recipients.  I then listen for hints or wishes throughout the year and write them on my list.  Whether the presents are for our children, grandchildren, relatives, friends, or people we have never met, I want to find a gift that is just right for each person.  Sometimes that means spending time researching products on the computer, making calls to several stores in and out of town, or going to another city to pick up the gift.  Even with all the thought, planning, and care in choosing the present, there is no guarantee that the gift will be exactly what each person desires, wants, or needs...even if they wished for it.

Only God is the “Perfect Gift Giver.”  He offers everyone the perfect gift of His Son, Jesus.  Because of Jesus’ sacrificial love, obedience on the cross, and resurrection, we can each have the gift of a relationship with Him for eternity.  God offers us the present of His presence through His Son, Immanuel, “God with us.”  And like the presents we receive for Christmas, for the gift to be ours we must take it, embrace it, and accept it as our own.

 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Matthew 1:23

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16-17