The tradition of giving gifts on Christmas is said to be based on commemorating God’s gift to humanity of his son, Jesus Christ, on Christmas Day.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16 (KJV)
But our modern iteration of this ancient Christian idea – that the birth of Jesus Christ was a gift from a loving God to a sinful world – tends to leave out the most important element of the gift; that it wasn’t a “present,” it was a sacrifice of God’s only son, for beyond the Christmas manger is the Cross.
And without the Cross of Easter, Christmas would be meaningless.
The Gospel of Matthew relates that a star shown over the birthplace of Jesus and led the Magi to Bethlehem, and that star has become a treasured symbol of Christmas, topping Christmas trees and gracing Christmas decorations around the Christian world.
In our joy this Christmas season we must also remember that the star that shown in Bethlehem on Christmas led eventually to Jerusalem and the Cross.
While Christians celebrate and focus on the gift of Jesus during Christmas, often lost in the joy and celebration, and yes commercialization of Christmas, is the central element of the Christian faith – while God’s great gift is bestowed on Christmas, it is only fulfilled on Easter.
The idea that Christmas is a time of sacrifice has long-been expunged from our celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Even many Gospel-centered churches will leave out that idea, subtly substituting instead the notion that a gift to charity or an extra envelop in the offering plate during the Christmas Eve service is the kind of “gift” that is sufficient to commemorate the occasion.
But we think a close reading of the Gospel reveals that’s not the kind of “gift” God requires.
Hebrews 10:26 tells us, “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins...”
The gift God asks of us at Christmas is to make a sacrifice of ourselves and to turn away from sin and give ourselves to Jesus Christ.
This Christmas season we invite you to renew your faith if you are a Christian, or if you have not yet heard the good news and given yourself to Jesus Christ, now is the time to open your heart to the gift of God’s only begotten Son – follow the star that shines over Bethlehem and leads to a humble manger and, if you believe in him, to a Cross, forgiveness of your sins and life everlasting.
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