The Gift That Keeps on Giving
The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Rediscovering the True Meaning of Christmas
In a world filled with twinkling lights, decorated trees, and carefully wrapped presents, it's easy to lose sight of the most extraordinary gift ever given. The Christmas story we've heard countless times holds depths we often rush past in our hurry to celebrate the season. But what if we paused to truly see what happened in that humble stable over two thousand years ago?
A God Who Knew You Before Time Began
Before we explore that miraculous night, we need to understand something profound: God knew you before you were born. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that before He formed us in the womb, He knew us. Ephesians 1:4 takes this even further, revealing that God chose us before the foundation of the world itself. Think about that for a moment, before creation, before time as we know it, God spent time with you.
This isn't just poetic language. This is the heart of the Father, intimately acquainted with every detail of who you are, crafting you with intentional purpose. You weren't an accident or an afterthought. You were born on purpose, for a purpose.
The Reality of Sin and the Need for a Savior
But then came sin. The universal problem that separated humanity from the God who created us. The wages of sin is death, a stark reality that touches every human life. If we're honest, we all face this truth: the death rate among humans is 100%. None of us escapes this world alive in our physical bodies.
Yet God, in His infinite love, couldn't leave us in that hopeless state. John 3:16 captures the heart of Christmas: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
The Scandal of Bethlehem
We've sanitized the Christmas story, haven't we? Our nativity scenes feature a serene Mary, a composed Joseph, and a peaceful baby surrounded by adoring animals and well-dressed wise men. But the reality was far grittier, far more scandalous, and far more powerful.
Picture a fourteen-year-old girl, barely at the age of physical maturity, facing an impossible situation. She hadn't gone through the proper seven-year betrothal process. She had no husband. And suddenly, an angel appears with news that would change everything: she would conceive and bear a son who would be called the Son of God.
Mary's response reveals her character. She didn't swoon in religious ecstasy. She asked the practical question: "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" She stood up for her morality, knowing full well the implications of what the angel was saying.
The angel's answer holds the key for all of us facing impossible situations: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you." When God calls you to something beyond your natural abilities, He provides supernatural power to accomplish it.
The Rough Road to the Miracle
When Caesar Augustus decreed that everyone must be taxed, Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem. Imagine a nine-month pregnant woman riding on a donkey across the desert to pay taxes. It sounds almost cruel, doesn't it?
But here's a profound truth: God allowed that rough road to position the miracle. Sometimes the hard times, the bumpy journey, the uncomfortable circumstances are actually preparing us for the breakthrough we need. That difficult ride helped position that baby for birth. Your rough road may be positioning your miracle right now.
The Armpit of the World
Bethlehem wasn't the glamorous location we imagine. Despite its title as the "House of Bread," it was actually an impoverished, rough area—the wrong side of the tracks. When Mary and Joseph arrived, they couldn't even find a decent place to stay. There was no room for them.
They ended up in a stable, not a quaint barn with soft lighting, but a place filled with animal dung, dust, and the harsh smell of livestock. Mary gave birth in conditions we can barely imagine: no hospital bed, no medication, no epidural, no sterile environment. Just blood, sweat, straw, and the raw reality of childbirth in its most primitive form.
The baby was wrapped not in fine linens but in swaddling clothes, essentially rags torn from people's clothing, like shop rags used to clean up messes.
Why Such a Lowly Entrance?
Why would the God of heaven choose such a place for His Son's entrance into the world? The answer is both simple and profound: Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to minister, to serve, and to surrender His life as a ransom for many.
Had He been a king, He would have sent an ambassador. Had He been a president, He would have sent a vice president. But Jesus didn't slide a prescription through a pharmacy window. He came walking into our filthy, worst nightmares. He came into the muck, the mire, the blood, the disease, the sin.
He didn't come to the high and mighty but to the poor and needy. And if you've ever felt unworthy, broken, or too messed up for God's love, this should bring you tremendous hope. Whatever you've been through, He gets it. He entered into the mess to reach you.
A Child Born, A Son Given
Isaiah 9:6 prophesied about this moment some 900 years before it happened: "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given." Notice the distinction, a child is born, but a son is given. This reveals the dual nature of Jesus. He was born into the earth as a human baby, but He was given from another world, from eternity itself.
This was the joining together of the eternal and the temporal, God and man. Jesus, lying in that manger, was every bit as much God as He was man. He was the only begotten Son, and His arrival changed everything forever.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Christmas isn't about tinsel, trees, and temporary presents. It's about the gift that literally keeps on giving, eternal life. Romans 6:23 contrasts two realities: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Think about what this means. You were designed to live forever—medical science even confirms that your body regenerates every seven years. Yet something causes us to die: sin. But Jesus came to cancel that death sentence.
Romans 8 beautifully captures the full scope of this gift. The case is closed. There's no voice of condemnation against those joined in life union with Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life has liberated us from the law of sin and death.
God achieved what the law couldn't accomplish. He sent His Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God's Son gave His body to be the sin offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin.
Living in the Freedom of the Gift
Because of Christmas, because of that baby in the manger who grew up to die on a cross and rise from a tomb, everything has changed. You didn't receive a spirit of religious duty leading you back into fear of never being good enough. You received the Spirit of full acceptance, enfolding you into the family of God.
The Holy Spirit makes God's fatherhood real to us as He whispers into our innermost being: "You are God's beloved child."
And since we are His true children, we qualify to share all His treasures. We are heirs of God Himself. Any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory about to be unveiled within us.
Nothing Can Separate Us
Here's the triumphant conclusion of this incredible gift: absolutely nothing can separate us from God's love. Not trouble, pressure, problems, persecutions, deprivations, dangers, or even death threats. They're all impotent to hinder omnipotent love.
We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. No power above us or beneath us, nothing in our present or future circumstances, nothing in the entire universe can distance us from God's passionate love lavished upon us through Jesus Christ.
The True Reason for the Season
This Christmas, as you gather with family, exchange gifts, and enjoy festive meals, remember the stable. Remember the mess, the blood, the poverty, the scandal. Remember that God went to the very top and gave the greatest gift He could possibly give—His own Son.
If He didn't hold back His Son, He certainly won't hold back anything else you need. Healing? It's available. Peace? It's yours. Freedom? It's been purchased.
The gift isn't something you have to unwrap, it's already here, already available, already calling your name.
That baby in the manger grew up to seek you, save you, serve you, and surrender His life for you. He entered your mess to bring you into His glory. He took
In a world filled with twinkling lights, decorated trees, and carefully wrapped presents, it's easy to lose sight of the most extraordinary gift ever given. The Christmas story we've heard countless times holds depths we often rush past in our hurry to celebrate the season. But what if we paused to truly see what happened in that humble stable over two thousand years ago?
A God Who Knew You Before Time Began
Before we explore that miraculous night, we need to understand something profound: God knew you before you were born. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that before He formed us in the womb, He knew us. Ephesians 1:4 takes this even further, revealing that God chose us before the foundation of the world itself. Think about that for a moment, before creation, before time as we know it, God spent time with you.
This isn't just poetic language. This is the heart of the Father, intimately acquainted with every detail of who you are, crafting you with intentional purpose. You weren't an accident or an afterthought. You were born on purpose, for a purpose.
The Reality of Sin and the Need for a Savior
But then came sin. The universal problem that separated humanity from the God who created us. The wages of sin is death, a stark reality that touches every human life. If we're honest, we all face this truth: the death rate among humans is 100%. None of us escapes this world alive in our physical bodies.
Yet God, in His infinite love, couldn't leave us in that hopeless state. John 3:16 captures the heart of Christmas: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
The Scandal of Bethlehem
We've sanitized the Christmas story, haven't we? Our nativity scenes feature a serene Mary, a composed Joseph, and a peaceful baby surrounded by adoring animals and well-dressed wise men. But the reality was far grittier, far more scandalous, and far more powerful.
Picture a fourteen-year-old girl, barely at the age of physical maturity, facing an impossible situation. She hadn't gone through the proper seven-year betrothal process. She had no husband. And suddenly, an angel appears with news that would change everything: she would conceive and bear a son who would be called the Son of God.
Mary's response reveals her character. She didn't swoon in religious ecstasy. She asked the practical question: "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" She stood up for her morality, knowing full well the implications of what the angel was saying.
The angel's answer holds the key for all of us facing impossible situations: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you." When God calls you to something beyond your natural abilities, He provides supernatural power to accomplish it.
The Rough Road to the Miracle
When Caesar Augustus decreed that everyone must be taxed, Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem. Imagine a nine-month pregnant woman riding on a donkey across the desert to pay taxes. It sounds almost cruel, doesn't it?
But here's a profound truth: God allowed that rough road to position the miracle. Sometimes the hard times, the bumpy journey, the uncomfortable circumstances are actually preparing us for the breakthrough we need. That difficult ride helped position that baby for birth. Your rough road may be positioning your miracle right now.
The Armpit of the World
Bethlehem wasn't the glamorous location we imagine. Despite its title as the "House of Bread," it was actually an impoverished, rough area—the wrong side of the tracks. When Mary and Joseph arrived, they couldn't even find a decent place to stay. There was no room for them.
They ended up in a stable, not a quaint barn with soft lighting, but a place filled with animal dung, dust, and the harsh smell of livestock. Mary gave birth in conditions we can barely imagine: no hospital bed, no medication, no epidural, no sterile environment. Just blood, sweat, straw, and the raw reality of childbirth in its most primitive form.
The baby was wrapped not in fine linens but in swaddling clothes, essentially rags torn from people's clothing, like shop rags used to clean up messes.
Why Such a Lowly Entrance?
Why would the God of heaven choose such a place for His Son's entrance into the world? The answer is both simple and profound: Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to minister, to serve, and to surrender His life as a ransom for many.
Had He been a king, He would have sent an ambassador. Had He been a president, He would have sent a vice president. But Jesus didn't slide a prescription through a pharmacy window. He came walking into our filthy, worst nightmares. He came into the muck, the mire, the blood, the disease, the sin.
He didn't come to the high and mighty but to the poor and needy. And if you've ever felt unworthy, broken, or too messed up for God's love, this should bring you tremendous hope. Whatever you've been through, He gets it. He entered into the mess to reach you.
A Child Born, A Son Given
Isaiah 9:6 prophesied about this moment some 900 years before it happened: "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given." Notice the distinction, a child is born, but a son is given. This reveals the dual nature of Jesus. He was born into the earth as a human baby, but He was given from another world, from eternity itself.
This was the joining together of the eternal and the temporal, God and man. Jesus, lying in that manger, was every bit as much God as He was man. He was the only begotten Son, and His arrival changed everything forever.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Christmas isn't about tinsel, trees, and temporary presents. It's about the gift that literally keeps on giving, eternal life. Romans 6:23 contrasts two realities: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Think about what this means. You were designed to live forever—medical science even confirms that your body regenerates every seven years. Yet something causes us to die: sin. But Jesus came to cancel that death sentence.
Romans 8 beautifully captures the full scope of this gift. The case is closed. There's no voice of condemnation against those joined in life union with Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life has liberated us from the law of sin and death.
God achieved what the law couldn't accomplish. He sent His Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God's Son gave His body to be the sin offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin.
Living in the Freedom of the Gift
Because of Christmas, because of that baby in the manger who grew up to die on a cross and rise from a tomb, everything has changed. You didn't receive a spirit of religious duty leading you back into fear of never being good enough. You received the Spirit of full acceptance, enfolding you into the family of God.
The Holy Spirit makes God's fatherhood real to us as He whispers into our innermost being: "You are God's beloved child."
And since we are His true children, we qualify to share all His treasures. We are heirs of God Himself. Any suffering we endure is less than nothing compared to the magnitude of glory about to be unveiled within us.
Nothing Can Separate Us
Here's the triumphant conclusion of this incredible gift: absolutely nothing can separate us from God's love. Not trouble, pressure, problems, persecutions, deprivations, dangers, or even death threats. They're all impotent to hinder omnipotent love.
We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. No power above us or beneath us, nothing in our present or future circumstances, nothing in the entire universe can distance us from God's passionate love lavished upon us through Jesus Christ.
The True Reason for the Season
This Christmas, as you gather with family, exchange gifts, and enjoy festive meals, remember the stable. Remember the mess, the blood, the poverty, the scandal. Remember that God went to the very top and gave the greatest gift He could possibly give—His own Son.
If He didn't hold back His Son, He certainly won't hold back anything else you need. Healing? It's available. Peace? It's yours. Freedom? It's been purchased.
The gift isn't something you have to unwrap, it's already here, already available, already calling your name.
That baby in the manger grew up to seek you, save you, serve you, and surrender His life for you. He entered your mess to bring you into His glory. He took
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