Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: LOVE is the Heart of Christmas! (LISTEN HERE)
So you just have a today and tomorrow to find the perfect gift…hopefully your shopping is done by now!
Finding the perfect gift for the people in your life is certainly challenging. Hopefully our devotions have given you some practical thoughts based on God’s Perfect Gift of love to you. A perfect gift is personal, priceless (given from a heart of love), timeless, and practical.
But outside of God’s love for you, it’s hard to find a gift that matches all of these…which is why God’s love is such the perfect gift.
But there’s one more attribute of God’s Perfect Gift…it causes celebration!
You can probably recall a Christmas git you received (or watched another person receive) that as soon as they saw what was inside they dropped the package half opened and threw their hands up in the air, yelling “YES!!! It’s what I ALWAYS wanted!” After the yell there may be a spontaneous “happy dance” around the family room, shouting and yelling joyful glee. Mom and Dad or whoever gave the gift may get a huge hug and a large “THANK YOU!” as part of the celebration for receiving THE perfect gift!
The Gospel of Luke records the shepherd’s celebration in Luke 2:20:
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
As Luke “carefully investigated” the life and work of Jesus, I wonder if had the chance to interview one of the shepherds? If he did, I wonder if the excitement returned as the shepherd recounted the appearance of the angels, the visitation to the manger in Bethlehem and the return through Bethlehem which found them telling anyone who would listen!
Perhaps it was a spontaneous “happy dance”! YES! God did give us what he has promised us for a long time! YES! God gave me exactly what I needed…a Savior. If I could run and give God a hug, I would…YES! What a perfect gift!
Christmas Day is a special day for us as Christians. While we know what’s “wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in manger” is Jesus, the impact causes celebration every time we peer into the manger and see Jesus, our Savior born for YOU and me!
YES! What a perfect gift!
Don’t let your meal prep, your family gatherings, your travel, your unwrapping of presents or anything else get in the way of celebrating the perfect gift God has given to you. Make it a point to go to your local church Saturday and Sunday. Take your friends and family with you!
If nothing else as you are unwrapping gifts, just spontaneously stand up and yell, “YES!” Do a happy dance! Give someone a hug! And when you have everyone’s attention, simply say, “God gave me and us the perfect gift, the gift I’ve always wanted and needed…Jesus.”
Jesus is THE perfect gift!
Merry Christmas!
Prayer: Lord thank you for giving all of us THE perfect gift at Christmas…your son, Jesus, our Savior. AMEN.