Text:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life – John 3:16
Thought:
Christmas, the time when billions are spent worldwide, celebrating the festive season often to excess and purchasing countless items for family and friends to open on that special day. Clever, in your face advertising, assures us that it will be the perfect present, but how many end up as unwanted gifts? Never unopened, but not all received with the same enthusiasm perhaps as they were given. After all, my eighteen month old grand-daughter much prefers the wrapping paper to what’s inside!
Paul writing to the Corinthian Church said, ‘When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things’ – 1 Corinthians 13:11. This verse reminds me of my 13th birthday. I had it in my head that I was now growing up fast and didn’t need toys anymore. I wanted something that would reflect the fact that I was now a teenager, ready to take on the world. I looked forward eagerly to Dad and Mum’s present. My heart sank as they gave me a rather large lorry to play with. It was not what I wanted, not what I expected. Sure, it got played with, after all I had 3 younger brothers and sisters to claim what I really didn’t want. But what was given in love, wasn’t received thankfully because I had my eyes on something else.
Today’s text boldly states that God gave his son Jesus to us because he loved this world so much. Perhaps you find that difficult to believe because of all the bad there is in humanity, or even in your own life. If this text really is true, then God sees something in us that we aren’t fully aware of. If a person is so fixed on worldly or material ambitions and possessions, it’s easy to see God’s gift as unwanted and unnecessary.
The key to this verse are the words, ‘Should not perish but have everlasting life.’ We can have many things in our lives, usually too much, but we can’t have everlasting life unless we receive God’s gift, Jesus, into our lives in a personal way. Don’t take the ‘Christ’ out of ‘Christmas’. Take time instead to thank God for his gift to you that cost more than all the presents ever given. Reading the gospels in the Bible is like taking the wrapping paper away to see what Jesus is really like. He’s the gift worth having and one we really can’t do without.
You can have a blessed CHRISTmas.
Scripture taken from the New King James ®1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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