The Christmas gift we know but do you understand?
I have been blessed by so many Christmas celebrations and yes, gifts as well. I recall a very special Christmas that was overwhelming. Reminiscing this particular Christmas has brought about warm memories of my Dad and mom's love for their kids. This Christmas I had asked for, wished for, and hoped for a very expensive bicycle. As children, we have no idea of the sacrifice our parents make. My dad was working three jobs. Meeting my hopes, wishes, and expectations was impossible! While the rest of the family opened presents, my dad snuck out to the garage to retrieve a well-hidden gift. Just at the right moment, (a moment when I was feeling rather disappointed in the lack of that Schwinn bicycle) he came, rolling a brand new, red and silver, Schwinn bicycle. You can’t imagine the overwhelming excitement that arose from a place of disappointment to a place of utter glee! There were probably many other bikes exactly like this one, but I considered this a one-of-a-kind model because it was mine and my father gave it to me. Now as an old man, the realization of the sacrifice that was made to make this gift possible brings me to tears. This memory reminds me that this gift signified my father’s love for me.
The Christmas event is the greatest example of the love that God has for us! Gifts are a wonderful thing!! The gifts brought by the wise men to Jesus were also unique and wonderful. Gold signified kingship—but why to a stable-born carpenter’s son? Frankincense, a fragrant gum resin ground into powder and burned as incense, symbolized priesthood. Myrrh, another aromatic resin from small, thorny trees, was very costly and used in perfumes, anointing oils, medicine, and embalming. It denoted Jesus’ future suffering and burial. Strange, one-of-a-kind gifts for this innocent little child, weren’t they? As it turned out, this little child was a unique gift himself. Our heavenly Father gave him to the world as a one-of-a-kind gift.
This unique gift shows how much God loves us. (1 John 4:9) This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
This Son was no ordinary son, but the only begotten (unique, one-of-a-kind) Son of the Father. This unique Son of God brought eternal life to all who trust in him. This unique gift helps us understand true love. (v. 10) This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. “Not that we loved God” emphasizes it was an act in which we had no part—a total transaction of divine love. The nature of true love is sacrificial—“He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [substitutionary sacrifice] for our sins.” God wants his love for us, as expressed in his Son, to be dispersed through us to one another (1 John 4:11). Dear friends since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. In this act, we participate in the same love by which he loves us. The birth of Christ Proves God’s love and promise to us.
In this season of celebration let's remember the sacrifice that God made so that we might have life everlasting and a loving relationship with Him.
May you be blessed this Christmas!
Until next time
Pastor Mike
