Were you on Santa’s naughty or nice list this year? As you opened your presents this morning, did you get all that you desired? Let’s take some time to look at three types of gifts that you might have, or may still receive this Christmas…
The Surprise Gift
This present is the kind you had no idea was coming. This may be something you didn’t even know you wanted. It may also be someone surprising you that you didn’t expect to see. Mary received one of those gifts. I love imagining what it might have been like to receive the news as she did as told in Luke 1:26-38. Being a Jewish girl, she knew about the virgin birth and a Savior that was to be born as foretold by the prophets (Isaiah 7:14). As she was told by the angel Gabriel that God chose her to carry the Savior, she must have been stunned.
The Disappointing Gift
These kinds of presents are hard to deal with. You don’t want to offend the gift giver, but at the same time, may have a hard time accepting the gift. Joseph experienced this when he heard that the one he was to marry was with child. As told in Matthew 1:18-19, Joseph was going to deal with the matter quietly. It wasn’t until an angel came to him in a dream (vs. 20-23) that he knew that this child was Jesus, the promised Messiah.
The Greatest Gift
Is it something you only get if you didn’t make the naughty list? Is it something money can buy? What is this “greatest gift”? John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Here are a few things you should know about this gift…
-Money can’t buy it. Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and that not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”
-It can’t be earned. Ephesians 2:9, “not by works, so that no one can boast.”
-This gift is for all. Luke 2:8-12, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for ALL THE PEOPLE. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born TO YOU; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
-You can receive this gift this Christmas. Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”
