It’s
Christmas, and with each passing year we get more and more gifts; each one
taking its place among our list of favorites.
So
what is yours? Was it the bike you received when you were ten? Was it the stamp
collection handed down from an older brother who was cash-poor due college
debt? Was it the new granddaughter who suddenly filled your empty-nest with noise?
I
am discovering, a gift that was my all-time favorite gift, can easily lose its
place as I receive yet another favorite gift. And, oftentimes, the title
doesn’t go to the one that has the best market value. No, oftentimes, the top
billing goes to the one that sacrificed the most to give me that gift.
Although
I have appreciated it when I have been given (monetarily) expensive gifts from
friends and family, to me, what gave more significance had more to do with who
gave it to me and how much they had to sacrifice to give it.
For
me, as I look back at all that was given to me, I still remember with
gratefulness my favorite gift; probably because of how much it cost my friend
to give it to me.
The
year was 1978. I was in my second year of college and I was longing for
something to change my life which, although I had focus and a career path, still
it felt somewhat aimless. Everything I had lost its luster and nothing and no
one seemed to be able to give me what I really needed.
The
gift was given years before, but I hadn’t personally received it until just
after Thanksgiving; so actually it came a little early that year. The gift was
expensive, not in market value, but because the giver had to sacrifice so much
to give it to me.
The
gift, my favorite gift, was eternal life. It was a precious gift given by the
only One who really knew what I was looking for. It was something that has
altered my course of life; both now and for eternity.
In fact, this gift
can be yours as well; the price has already been paid by Jesus…all you have to
do is simply receive it. That is what Christmas is all about.
“About
that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire.
This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to
travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from
the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the
census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his
fiancée, who was pregnant.
While they were
there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a Son, her
firstborn. She wrapped Him in a blanket and laid Him in a manger, because there
was no room in the hostel.
There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They
had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them
and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t
be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for
everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who
is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a
blanket and lying in a manger.”
At once the angel was
joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises:
Glory
to God in the heavenly heights,
Peace to all men and women on earth who please Him.
As the
angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. “Let’s get
over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed
to us.” They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in
the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels
had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
Mary kept all these
things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders
returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had
heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they’d been told!” Luke 2:1-21 (MSG)
