Gifts - It's What Christmas Is All About

Christmas is about gifts. It would be hard for most of us to deny that statement. And who hasn’t heard the old adage, it’s better to give than receive? All my life I’ve heard people say that and for many adults, they believe that. Not me. I’m not going to lie; I like getting gifts as much as giving them. Truthfully? Maybe more. Nothing cranks me up more than getting a gift. I’m very materialistic. I like stuff.

Yesterday, my family celebrated Christmas. We exchanged gifts and I got some cool stuff. Last night, my wife and I exchanged gifts. I got some cool stuff. This morning my youngest daughter will come over and we will, once again, exchange gifts. Whatever she gives me, will be cool stuff.

But you know what? Even though some of the stuff I got for Christmas is cool stuff, the reason I loved getting them goes beyond that. What I really love about getting a gift is that it means I have some one in my life, who took the time to give it to me. It doesn’t matter whether they spent hours walking a store struggling to pick something out, or they simply went on Amazon and selected off my wish list that I set up prior to Christmas. They still thought of me enough to do that. That means a lot to me. More than they know.

Oh, that saying I referred to above? It’s more than an old adage. It derives from a direct quote from the Bible and right from the mouth of Jesus as Luke quotes him.

Acts 20:35
 "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Jesus, Himself, said “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Hmm? Sounds like I have my priorities wrong. But no where here does Jesus say it’s not okay to receive. It is. But what Jesus is saying to us that we will find even greater joy when we give to others, than we get from others. As a matter of fact, it’s in the receiving of Him, upon which our entire future rests.

John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

You see the best thing we can ever do, is to receive His gift. And that gift is the right to become children of God. No present under the tree will ever come close to being as wonderful as this gift. This is why we celebrate Christmas. This is why we exchange gifts. We give each other gifts and we receive gifts from each other because that is a picture of what God has done for us by sending Jesus into the world. That is what Christmas is about.

John 1:9-13
 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Our salvation is a gift from God.

John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

That is the greatest Christmas gift ever. The Word became flesh. The baby was born in a lowly manger. But that baby is the King.

I love gifts. I love giving them, I love receiving them. When we do Christmas, we are painting a picture of the greatest gift ever given. The love of God. A love so great, so deep, so wide, that He would send His one and only Son, that in Him, we may have eternal life.

Have you received the gift?

As you celebrate Christmas, and both give and receive, remember that all good things come from God. But the best gift ever given is the giving of Jesus.

Receive the gift. Share the gift. Tell others that Jesus came into the world to save us from our sins. That God has given us this wonderful gift. Tell them to receive it and the right to become children of God. That’s the greatest gift. We can receive it. We can share it.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!