“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
I remember my wedding day as if it were yesterday. A feeling of nervousness overwhelmed me as I waited for my bride to walk down the aisle. I was anxious until my young beautiful bride stood next to me at the altar. When I gazed into her face, the tension in me quickly disappeared and euphoric feelings of joy and love came over me for this vision of loveliness standing next to me. The wedding coordinator gave me strict instructions not to look at my bride as she walked down the aisle; she claimed it was bad luck. In retrospect, that was probably the worst advice she could have given to me because of a foolish tradition. Filled with impatience and heightened anticipation, I could hardly wait to be alone with my bride. The moment the preacher (my wife’s father, by the way) said “I pronounce you husband and wife,” how I wanted to stop everything and whisk my bride off on our honeymoon!
After the wedding, we took inventory of all the gifts we had received. A popular gift back in the 1970’s was the Crock-Pot. Do you remember the Crock-Pot? It’s a slow cooker in which you can put all the ingredients for your meal, cover the pot, turn on the power and leave for work. When you returned home at the end of the day, your food was cooked and ready to be served. The one drawback to cooking in this pot is that everything tastes the same. Well, the Crock-Pot was so popular that we received about eight of them as wedding gifts, and for the next six or seven weddings we attended we gave each couple one.
Christmas has been coined as the season for giving. Many of us look forward to receiving gifts during this season (at least I do). There is no greater feeling than when you receive a great gift. A great gift is something you enjoy, and wear or use, with great pride and joy.
A trend has developed in our society, and it has become a ritual, that the day after Christmas droves of people make their way to stores to stand in line to return gifts they cannot use or gifts they do not want. Size or color might be a factor, as could the style. It could also be that the recipient just doesn’t like the gift. In fact, it has become customary to include a gift receipt with the gift in order to make it easier for the receiver to return the gift.
The Gift of God
God gave us His greatest gift. You won’t find this gift in any mall, boutique or online store. This gift cannot be contained in a box, basket or gift bag. The beauty of this gift is that it is customized just for you – no matter who you are, where you live, who your parents are, regardless of your race, age, social or economical status. This is the only gift that will bring you joy in the midst of sorrow, provision to those in need and peace beyond comprehension. All of this is provided in God’s gift, His only son, Jesus Christ. God gave us His best so that we could be our best. You don’t have to earn it to receive the gift of God’s Son. All you need to do is: “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Rom. 10:9-10) The gift of the Son of God is the one gift that you will never return. Remember God gave you His best. While we sometimes miss the mark by selecting the wrong gifts, God’s gift is un-returnable. The result of God’s gift is eternal life.
Storms and trials will come, but if you are willing to endure, Jesus – the perfect gift – will see you through until the end. If you have not received the gift of salvation through Christ Jesus, why not open your heart to Him right now and receive Him today.
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