Whenever I ask my husband Keith what he would like for Christmas, he only ever says one word – LEGO. This year I won’t be giving him any LEGO because besides having no space he still has two sets from last Christmas that are in the box unopened. Yes, he has taken the wrapping paper off and admired them, but the sets have not been built. He hasn’t used the gift as it was intended.
Jesus is God’s Christmas gift not just to us but the whole world. For many people it is like an unopened present because they do not open it and receive the benefit of it. Why would you celebrate Christmas if you were not going to open the greatest gift of all – God’s gift of salvation for everyone.
In a recent post, Chris said that “According to a search on google trends, searches in New Zealand on Santa spike in popularity every December, while searches on Jesus only get a very small bump…”.
At Christmas I am often reminded of the shepherd’s response to the greatest news and gift of all time in Luke 2:8-20. Instead of staying in the fields, they hurried off and they found what they were looking for. When they saw Jesus, they could not keep it to themselves, and they spread the word about Jesus. After this they returned to their lives. They went back to their fields and sheep and their families, but they were changed. There was wonder and worship in their hearts because of the great joy they had seen and heard.
It is my prayer that this Christmas, God will work through us, and more people will search for Jesus and find him and receive and unwrap the greatest gift of all – Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. As Christians we have received the greatest gift of all. Let’s not let that gift sit on the shelf, received and opened but not used how it was intended.
May God bless you in the coming week
– Tin Tin.