For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. – John 3:16
As a mom, I am always looking for gifts. On our eldest son’s last birthday, I had difficulty thinking of an appropriate gift for him—one that would let him know how much we love him. Another flannel hunting shirt? Another book? Some chocolates? He does not eat sweets… Slippers? I am not sure of his size. I finally settled on a gift, but I wondered if it really said, “I love you.”
Each Christmas, when our children were very young, I felt like a failure when it came to giving just the right gifts. My children were priceless treasures to me, and it seemed that nothing, no matter what the cost, could really express my love for them. Wrapping the gifts in sparkling paper and tying them with pretty ribbons was an extra way of trying to make the gifts special.
Some two thousand years ago, on that first Christmas morn, God knew exactly how He could express His great love for us. He gave something we needed desperately, and something we could never have acquired on our own—a Savior. This cherished Gift came at a high price; He was giving what was most precious to Him, His only Son. But Jesus did not come in fancy packaging. Rather, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger in a stable. He needed nothing extra to make Him shine!
When we receive God’s most precious Gift as our own, it must please Him to see our happiness and to know we count that Gift as our most valuable possession. God sent Jesus to us because He saw our need, and in His great love for us, He spared no cost. Like any parent, God wants us to know that He loves us. Oh, that we could somehow grasp the depth of that great love!
This year, as we put thought, preparation, and love into the gifts we give, let us keep in mind the great love that God showed to us when He gave His greatest Gift. It is ours forever.