Merry Christmas—The Beautiful Gift of Love
During this time of year, most people are focused on purchasing gifts and showing kindness to those we love. As a believer in Christ Jesus, my mind always returns to the true purpose of this holiday—the birth of Jesus, the wonderful gift that God gave to the world. As I reflected on this, I could feel the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart. This thought came to my mind:
You are giving gifts to those you love in celebration of My birth, and that is good. But I gave a personal gift from My heart to those who did not love Me.
I hope that truth lands on you as deeply as it did on me.
God took His most precious and costly gift and gave it to a world that could not—and would not—give Him anything in return. That is the ultimate expression of unconditional love. We are His world. He created us, and He loved us even while we were lost in sin.
Scripture teaches us that He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.
—Ephesians 1:3–10
We were not an afterthought. The gift of Jesus was God’s plan from the beginning. He knew we would be lost in sin, and His love and grace extend far beyond the mess we were in—or even the messes we may still make—when we accept His Son as our personal Savior. This is the real reason for the season: LOVE. We are loved more than we could ever begin to imagine, simply because we are His.
Scripture also says, Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…
—2 Corinthians 5:17–19 (AMP)
Family, this message brings us right back to the heart of this devotional: Merry Christmas! You have been given the beautiful gift of love.
If you have not yet received this gift, I invite you to accept the gift that has been waiting for you for years. Scripture tells us, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Key Takeaways
We are all loved by God
The gift of Jesus Christ is available to everyone
You cannot earn this gift of love—it is waiting for you to receive it
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19; Isaiah 55:11
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