The Perfect Gift

What’s your favorite Christmas present? Do you remember? One of my most favorite Christmas gifts was a pair of ice skates. I wanted ice skates so badly. Every winter, we had tons of places to skate from little puddles to a big pond just outside of town. I suspected I had gotten the skates, because there was a big box under the tree that looked big enough to contain a pair of skates. On Christmas morning, I tore open the package, and there was the big box. I opened the box, and there were a pair of pristine, white skates. The blades were a shiny steel. And the skates were so white. These were brand spanking new. I was so happy I wanted to go right outside, then and there to try them out. I loved those skates. I used them every chance I got. I would go outside for hours on end to skate, even when my toes got numb from the cold. I didn’t care. I loved skating. I wasn’t even very good at it, but I loved doing it. At least I could stay upright on them.

I love the reason for Christmas. God sent the greatest gift to mankind, the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. He was sent to this planet, as a baby. Imagine that. The very God of the universe, entering the planet as a small helpless baby. You can’t get more vulnerable than that. And there wasn’t even any fanfare. He wasn’t placed in a golden bassinet, lined with silk bedding. After He was born, He was placed in a stinking manger. A feeding trough! A place where animals eat hay out of. A place where they slobber while they consume the hay.

And His sole purpose for coming here, was to die. He was going to offer His life, His body as a sacrifice for our sins. The perfect lamb of God, came to be sacrificed for us! What a gift!

Ever try and give a gift to someone and they try and pay you back for it? Hopefully you haven’t. The best thing to do when you receive a gift is to just take it and say thank you. So often than not, people want to earn their salvation. They don’t want to accept the free gift God offers us, they want to do something for it. Pay it back. Work for it. C’mon people! It’s a gift. Take it! Accept it!

So often, we try and create a perfect Christmas and fail miserably. I can remember many Christmases that went haywire and were far from perfect. I don’t know how many times someone was sick on Christmas. One Christmas season hepatitis went through our town. I didn’t get it, but my brother and sister did. So I got to have a gift of a big, fat shot. Merry Christmas to me! I remember before we had kids, my husband and I were staying with my sister-in-law for Christmas. My husband brought pink eye to my sister-in-law and she returned his gift with a nice case of strep throat. I spent as much time as I could, away from them that Christmas.

Christmas is a time to celebrate the greatest gift given to mankind, Jesus Christ. As you wrap presents for your loved ones. As you think about each of the gifts you’ve bought and hope the recipient is as excited about it as you are giving it. Don’t worry about perfection for Christmas. So, someone gets sick. Or maybe your oven breaks while you’re attempting to cook a twenty-four pound turkey. Your two year old wakes up with a 101 fever (not that I have experience with that). Just think about the perfect gift of all, Jesus Christ as Savior of the world. Only in Jesus, will you find the perfect gift-His life.