I love Christmas! It embodies the essence of God - LOVE. God so loved the world that He gave... Sure in today's world in the USA many do not even celebrate true CHRISTmas. They want the time off work and the gifts but do not even care about knowing the ONE Who is CHRISTmas. The reality - whether you celebrate Him or not - is if it wasn't for JESUS we wouldn't have CHRISTmas. We can erase any attachment of His Name to the celebration from circulars and newspaper ads. We can cheerfully say, "Happy Holidays," with our cowardly political correctness. We can rush around to office parties here, friend parties there, and family gatherings everywhere but never find the time to say, "Thank You," to the One Who has made this all possible. Yet, He is the reason for the celebration of CHRISTmas!
Sometimes people seem to be friendlier and more cheerful this time of year. Others, however, are weighed down with depression as they remember those who are no longer with them or disgust at all the "holiday cheer" that seems to be floating around. Many are stressed at the mere thought of how to buy gifts for people who already have everything while they're not even sure how they are going to pay their house payment this month. Some feel like it would be so much nicer to simplify Christmas with less gift giving and more family time but know their families would be quite offended.
We've turned Christmas into something that it was never meant to be. Hey, I'm all for gifts, but I think we should consider the point in gifts. If we look at the giver of all good things as our example of gift-giving at it's best, I believe we could learn a few things that might help us enjoy and celebrate Christmas with more ease and thanksgiving.
1) God gave because He loved.
He didn't give out of obligation or out of expectation. God gave because He loved. His love for us is so intense that He had to do something to show us how much He really loves us. So, He gave! We may need to evaluate our love and our reasons for giving.
2) God gave what, or better said Who, was most dear to Him.
God's manner of giving is sacrificial. I'm not talking financial sacrifice here; I don't believe that we should go in debt to buy Christmas gifts. There should be a measure of thought, a measure of time, a measure of ourselves that we give in each gift we give.
3) God didn't give what we wanted. He gave what He knew we needed.
We may not have thought we needed Jesus. Many today still don't think they need Jesus. God still gives us what we don't ask for and often doesn't give us what we do ask for. Now, I don't think we should give gifts that people don't even like. That's a waste of money. I just think we should really pray about our gift giving. Don't wait until December to think about it. Let the Lord lead you to what you should give. Of course, this isn't always practical, but I do believe we should consider this.
I'm going to finish off with this: It's very difficult for me to give gifts to people who already have everything they want and a whole lot more than I have AND don't even have the common decency to say, "Thank you!" for their gifts. Yet, when I consider God, the great gift-giver, He still gave even though many never have and never will say, "Thank You!"
I hate to contribute to the already self-serving, self-centered, and "I'm entitled" nature of society today. So, I'm considering how I can best love and give without being financially taxed and emotionally frayed. Plus, I'm considering how I can best love and give like Jesus, with eternity in mind.
Scriptures for reference and study: John 3:16; James 1:17; Ephesians 2:4-5
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