God Gives

We love seeing our friends and family and children excitedly open gifts with gratitude and joy, don’t we? There’s nothing like the feeling of seeing a loved one joyfully receive a gift you got them. And similarly, there’s nothing like receiving a thoughtful, meaningful gift from a loved one.

Why do we give gifts on Christmas? Because we remember that God is a gracious giver. Consider the most famous passage in the Bible, John 3:16, in light of Christmas … “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Our greatest need required the greatest gift. And the greatest gift God can give is Himself. That’s what He did on Christmas. He gave us His one and only Son to save us from our sin. And just like any gift, the proper response to a gift is not to pay the gift-giver back—that would be an insult! The proper response is to simply receive the gift with joy and gratitude. God calls us to do this with His free gift of salvation—to joyfully receive His Son.