Reason #346

I wrapped all of my Christmas gifts this morning. Nothing like putting it off until the last minute, huh? I am proud that I at least completed all of my shopping before Christmas Eve, so I count that a success. I didn’t put up a tree this year, so I didn’t really have motivation to get my gifts wrapped early. I though they would look strange sitting out in the open on my living room floor. Anyhow, gift giving is a big deal, right? We hunt and search high and low to get the perfect gift. The right color, the right size. We want to stay within our budget but it’s Christmas, after all. And isn’t it fun to give gifts? Sure, it’s fun to open them, too. But it’s fun to watch to joy spread across someone’s face when they open up that perfectly picked out gift. You’re the reason they’re smiling. You’re the one bringing joy to their heart. It’s a by-product of your thoughtfulness.

 

Have you ever received a really good gift? I mean really, really good? A gift that you were hoping for but probably didn’t think you’d get it? Maybe it seemed too outrageous. Maybe everyone else wanted it too, and so you never imagined that you’d end up with one in your possession. And as you unwrapped it, your eyes popped open with excitement and a smile quickly found itself plastered on your face. I’ve been showered with incredibly good gifts over the past 10 days. I mean really, really good gifts. Gifts I didn’t expect, gifts that totally exceeded any expectation I had in mind. Gifts that were so generous and thoughtful. And I sit here, on this very Christmas Eve, just in awe of how God has blessed me. Amazed at what all He has given me. And I think about how often the best gifts aren’t the ones wrapped in paper and bows but rather are wrapped in skin. Gifts that live and breathe, that have a pulse and a heartbeat. Gifts that walk and talk and live life with you.

 

But wasn’t that the best, most generous gift God has ever given us from the start? Because He took grace, hope, mercy, love, forgiveness, redemption, light, and peace, and He wrapped these gifts up in skin. Delivered in a barn by a young mother, He sent the best gift possible. A living, breathing gift with warm blood pulsing through His veins. A gift that would live among us. A gift that would walk through life with us. Listen to our desperate pleas, comfort our anxious hearts, soothe our aches, lift our spirits, heal our wounds, restore our footing, and spill out that precious lifeblood to save our lives. A gift that gave it all for us.

 

And I think about all of the gifts wrapped in skin that He has blessed me with. Sweet gifts with big hearts. Gifts who have also walked through life with me. Who’ve carried me through the valleys and rejoiced with me on the mountain tops. Gifts who have given so much to me. Love, encouragement, friendship, warm embraces, happiness, laughter, sympathy, confidence, company, and the courage to pick and move forward with life. Gifts who’ve given more to me than I could have ever imagined or expected. Gifts who have brought so many smiles to my face. Some were gifts that caught me off guard, some were gifts that I had previously taken for granted, some were gifts that I have always had. But new gifts or old gifts, I’m thankful for each one. Each one specially designed, in the image of the One who gave us life, just for me. These are the best gifts because they don’t just show up at Christmas. These gifts stay with me year round. So I’m thankful for gifts with skin. And most of all, I’m thankful that that is the presentation in which God most often chooses to wrap up the gifts He gives us. What a generous giver He is!

 

#346 – Because He doesn’t just give us gifts at Christmas, but He gives them all year long!

 

“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given… and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…the passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s armies will make this happen!” – Isaiah 9:6-7