The Gift of Christmas

The celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ in a humble manger invites us to lift our eyes to see God’s greater reality amidst our every day lives. The God who is “I am”, the “Creator of all things”, (Gen 14:19) in whom “all things hold together” (Col 1: 17), at whose Name “ten thousand upon ten thousand angels bow down in adoration and praise” (Rev 5: 11), and who holds the whole universe “in the palm of His hand” (Isaiah 40:12), became a baby, submitted Himself to time and space, to the sneers and skepticism of those He created, to disease, discomfort, and ultimately to death.

Why? So that He might “live the life we should have lived and die the death we should have died” (Keller). Jesus came and gave his life as a substitute for ours. He took the punishment we deserve for rebelling against God and in exchange offers us His righteousness, inheritance, and privileges as members of God’s family. And He offers this gift of grace . . . for free. Our sin, regret, and shame in exchange for His unconditional love, grace and joy.

If you are unaware of God’s power or presence in your life, unaware of His love for you or His will for your life, come and receive . . . If you are burdened by guilt, weariness, disappointment, failure, loneliness, or the loss of a job or a loved one, come and receive Christ. He rose from the dead and is alive today. He is Emmanuel, God with us. When we decide to receive Him, individually, by faith, He takes up residence by His Spirit in our lives. He changes us into the people we always wanted to be, He promises to provide everything we need, and someday we will live in heaven with Him forever.

This is the gospel, the good news, the invitation of Christmas.

This Christmas way we be humble enough to receive the One who entered time and space as a man and who now reigns as “the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings” and “who reigns forever and ever” (Handel).

Receiving the Gift of Jesus with You,   ~ David