A Gift Worth Receiving

We’ve all received them before—socks, fruitcake, a scarf and glove set—those gifts from a friend or relative that we had just assumed not received. Isn’t it disappointing? “Didn’t they know what I wanted?” you asked.

It seems Christmas is all about giving and receiving gifts. At Immanuel, we want you to know the real reason we celebrate Christmas. God has given us a gift worth receiving—one that He knows we need and deep down in our hearts, we know we truly want.

Christmas really is all about Jesus Christ. Why is He the best gift God has ever given? Here’s why: people have chosen to reject God and live lives totally devoted to themselves; we are essentially rulers of our own lives. God’s Word says that this is sin. Romans 3:10-12, 23 says that there is none righteous, none that seek after God, and none that do good because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are a people in rebellion to God. Our sin has separated us from God (Isaiah 59:1-3).

However, Romans 5:8 tells us that God demonstrated His love for us by sending the greatest Christmas gift ever. Jesus came as God in flesh, born in a manger, who lived to die for our sins. His death on the cross paid sin’s debt so that you and I could be brought back into a right relationship with a holy God. His payment for sin was accepted by God because God raised Jesus from the dead (1 Corinthians 15). Ephesians 2:8 tells us that His payment for our sin must be received as a gift. Can you imagine getting a gift from someone special and then having them tell you that you must pay for it? God does command us to repent (Acts 17:30). We must repent from sin and being the boss of our own lives and confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9-10). He has to become the Lord, or boss, of our total lives.

What will you do with Jesus this Christmas? Will you leave Him wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger; will you leave Him naked hanging and dying on a cross; or will you follow Him as the Lord of your life risen from the dead to take away your sin? The best gift really has already been given. The choice is whether or not you’ll receive this gift and experience life like you never have before. Do not refuse the best gift you’ll ever receive.

May you and your family have a blessed merry Christmas this year!