Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: LOVE is the Heart of Christmas! (LISTEN HERE)
What makes a perfect gift?
Only 6 days left to find the “perfect gift” for that special someone or someone’s in your life. Perhaps one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year, individuals “have to have a gift” for someone and will be scrambling to find the “perfect gift.” (I know some of you are done shopping and have a storehouse of perfect gifts for all the people on your list…good work!)
But what is that perfect gift?
It’s tempting to say, “Just get something! Something is better than nothing.” Perhaps at the bare minimum a perfect gift is simply a gift of some kind.
But a gift given without much thought, without much effort, and simply is given out of obligation to do something, is probably not the perfect gift. Finding the perfect gift can be stressful. You want the person to like the gift, but really don’t know much about the other person to give a gift they would really enjoy.
So how can we solve the problem of gift giving?
Not that the Bible has a chapter on giving of gifts at Christmas, but it is the story of the greatest Gift ever given and ever received. So maybe when all other gifts fail or we struggle to give the perfect gift, it’s time to look into the manger of Bethlehem and discover once again the Perfect GIft that was given for you.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
This familiar passage begins our appreciation for the perfect gift God gave to us in his Son Jesus.
The perfect gift starts in the heart of the giver. Gifts should never be given out of obligation or guilt. If I feel I “owe” someone a gift, it is really not a gift, it is a payment. Gifts in their essence are expressions of love that originate in the heart of the giver.
God so LOVED the world…
God’s love for all mankind moved him to send his Son to the world. He was not obligated to do so. Mankind hadn’t been “nice” enough to get the gift of Jesus in Bethlehem. It was purely the heart of God that saw the real need each person had…a solution for sin. Seeing the need, God decided to do something about it.
…he GAVE his one and only Son…
God’s love for you led him to give you something YOU need. While the need for a solution for sin is universal and God’s gift is for the world, he also made his gift very personal by giving it to YOU!
Yesterday morning at church, one of our members who helps out a lot at church responded to a small gift my wife and I gave her by saying, “You didn’t have to do that!” To which I responded, “You’re right, we didn’t HAVE to, we wanted to because we want you to know how much you are appreciated.”
A gift is never given out of obligation, it is given out of love.
God’s gift of love is the perfect gift because it was given from a heart of love…for you!
Apply: How does knowing God’s gift to you in Jesus was not given out of obligation, but purely from a heart that loves you?
Prayer: Thank you Lord for loving me enough to send Jesus for me. AMEN.