Church of the Apostles

Christmas Gifts

by Jeff Hunter, Apostles' Junior Warden

You know, every year when shopping for Christmas gifts, there always seems to be someone on my list who just stumps me. I don’t know what they need – much less what they want. I don’t know what size to get, or color, or brand, or whatever. Sometimes the person is just picky about the presents they get and never use them. They become the fodder for White Elephant parties throughout the office party season.

In our relationship with God, however, God knows exactly what we need. He provides those gifts to us in perfect form at a perfect time. During this Christmas season, I would like to take a look at some of the gifts that God gives to us. Maybe when the stress of hearing “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” for the umpty-third time finally fries my brain, I can keep this season in perspective.

First and foremost, God gave us a Savior. If there ever was a gift where "one size fits all" this is it. This is a gift that was both promised to us and timed at the exact time that God wanted this gift to be given. We read in Isaiah 40:5 “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” This is a promise that we will see the Living God in the flesh and all will see him, thus the Old Testament prophets foretell the gift of Jesus Christ.

This gift was perfectly timed to satisfy mankind’s need for a Savior. We read in Galatians 4:3-4, “In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law, so that we would receive adoption as sons.” Thus, we not only are promised a redeemer, but we are promised this Savior in the “fullness of time” or just in time to redeem the world.

Our Redeemer brings with Him the promise of Salvation. This salvation provides us a personal relationship with our God. The Old Testament God is separated from His people because of our sinful nature. When Christ arrived on Earth, He brought with Him the opportunity to personally engage in relationship with the Living God. We could touch Him, talk to Him, and spend time with Him. This is something not mentioned in the Old Testament, but only possible by the substitutionary atonement of Christ. Following Christ’s death, the veil in the temple was torn representing the opening of the relationship with God. Thus, we are granted this saving grace from God through the birth of His Son.

Okay, we have these gifts from God. Now, what are we supposed to do with them? I imagine that God suffers the same disappointment that anyone feels when he or she sees what they think of as the perfect gift never getting used. The box gets set aside in a closet somewhere and never gets to see the light of day. We don’t see that shirt or tie that we searched high and low for because we thought Dad would love it. God, too, gets to see mankind refuse the gift of salvation in our continuous sinfulness and attachment to things of the world.

So what do we need to do?

Thank God for the gifts. Just like when you used to get socks every year from Grandma and Mom made you write a thank you note anyway, we need to thank God every day for these gifts. We pray thanksgiving every day for sending Christ into our lives.
Use it. We must accept and use our Salvation gift. We must unwrap it and accept that we are forgiven and redeemed from our sinful behavior. We must amend our lives and accept the transforming power of Christ.
Share it. II Tim. 1:6, 7 says, “…I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” This, we must share with everyone – even fellow Christians. Only through sharing our gifts do others also appreciate the never-ending grace of God.
So, during this Christmas season (and all year), we should remember that while we are seeking out the perfect gift, God has already given us a perfect gift. This gift is perfectly crafted and perfectly timed to be exactly what we needed – when we needed it. It is our responsibility as the receivers of this gift to thank God daily for it, use it daily, and share this gift with anyone who will listen. Therein lies the REAL Christmas story.

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