Many
of us enjoy giving gifts this time of the year.
I suppose that’s why the saying goes, “It’s better to give than to
receive.” The process can be stressful
to find something that the recipient will enjoy; something that matches their
interests. But when you find just the
right gift, it feels good. I think the
whole idea of gift giving is symbolism and a model of what our Heavenly Father
gave us. Regardless of whether you believe
this or not, the idea of God giving us His son, Jesus Christ, is a gift that is
beyond our understanding. It was a gift
given sacrificially. The idea of God
being the Trinity, the Trifecta (Have I mentioned before how much I love that
word?), is itself mysteriously wonderful.
God is three distinct parts and yet distinctly one. He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. By sending his Son to Earth as a
baby, an event known and expected through prophesy, he came in under the radar
wholly God and yet wholly man. Many in
the day thought he would come as a king and help overthrow the Roman Empire and
its grip on the known world. Instead,
the little boy Jesus, who was raised by a young girl and wood-worker, offered
freedom of another kind. His freedom
came through sacrifice that gave us, the common man, a chance at forgiveness
and second chances. Even after his death
and resurrection back into heaven, to be reunited with his Father, he promised
to always be with us, if we accept our humanness and need for him while
allowing the Holy Spirit into our heart.
It’s nothing fancy. We don’t have
to do anything; in fact we can’t. How
strange in a world where we constantly want to do something, that when it comes
to eternal salvation, the only “doing” is admitting, believing and committing
to following him as best we can. Due to
our humanness it will never be perfect, but we press on and with that ultimate
gift of forgiveness, given with grace and full of mercy, we utter those words
we often hear when we give our loved ones and friends a gift; “Thank you.”
And
so on a day where a few gifts were given and received, time was spent together,
and we remember the reason we have Christmas, I say, “Thank you God for giving
us your son as a gift; the ultimate gift who became the sacrifice on our behalf.”
See
you along The Way…
PS-The Lauren Daigle Song “Noel” (Below)
is well worth the listen...You may have to "Skip" through the Ad in the beginning.
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The pictures are from this afternoon’s family
hike with the dogs at Sugar River Forest Preserve-On Christmas Day 2015.
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