The Greatest Gift

We have a new addition to our Christmas tree this year, a ‘tree skirt’. For the uninitiated, a tree skirt is like a woolly blanket which sits at the foot of the tree. It looks good, but will -soon enough- be covered over in presents. And early (too early) on Christmas morning the girls will come racing into the living room to lift their presents from the tree. There will be much excitement as wrapping paper is torn and cast aside, boxes are open and expensive (too expensive) gifts enjoyed!
Before long though, if previous years are anything to go by, the strangest of things will happen. The gifts that cost so much will be set aside and the girls will begin to play with the boxes and the wrapping paper- and maybe this year the tree skirt too! Dens will be created and new games invented, limited only by the girl’s own imaginations.
It’s cute to see, but I would be lying if I said that part of me didn’t wonder why we bought all those expensive gifts when so much fun could be had from a few cardboard boxes and some colourful paper!
Maybe therein lies a lesson for us more mature children. We who have encountered the greatest gift in Christ Jesus, how often do we turn back to the lesser gifts? We leave Jesus to play with food and television and music and any number of other things which can only ever satisfy for a time.
We ought to be thankful for all the gifts God gives, but not at the expense of making Jesus, the greatest gift ever given, front and centre of our lives. It is only this gift, this divine Person who can save us from our sins and set us free. It’s all about giving: the Father gave His Son, the Son came to give His life, the Spirit comes into the heart of the believer to give us His power in our Christian walk.
This year will be a different Christmas for most of us. Many will be missing things we normally get to enjoy, but we need not miss out on the greatest gift ever given.
May we seize the opportunity to thank God for all His gifts, but also to ask that He would never let us look to lesser gifts to provide us with that which only Jesus can offer- forgiveness, freedom, eternal life, peace and joy.
Yours in Christ Jesus
Ross