The Christmas Gift For Everyone

The whole set up for the birth of Jesus is amazing. Consider first of all the simple fact that He came! God left His pure, ethereal, glorious existence and took on physical form. If I had unlimited power and existed in a world outside of time and space I’m not sure I would have willingly chosen to become a mere mortal confined to time and space. I mean consider that Jesus (God incarnate) had to be fed, have His diapers changed, learn to walk, go through puberty, make friends in school, study, get a job, work hard, feel tired, feel sad… the full range of what it means to be human.

Why did He do it? Love. Jesus is the ultimate expression of love in the flesh. He is an exemplar of ‘practice what you preach’. He showed us the way to live by example. And even more shocking is that His purpose was to effect the most scandalous gift exchange of all time. He gave His life so that we could gain eternal life. He took on humanity so that we could have godliness. He suffered so that we would suffer no more. He took away our sins so that we could become righteous. He left heaven so that we could have a home in heaven. He lay down His glory so that we could become glorious. The king became a servant, so that the servants could become kings!

Who is worthy of such a gift? The answer is no one and everyone. None are worthy, but all are accepted. The circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus were intentionally orchestrated by God to let us know that Jesus came for EVERYONE. He could have been born in a palace but instead He chose a stable. He could have been laid in a fancy hand-crafted crib but instead he chose a feeding trough for animals. His first visitors could have been the elite of the Jewish people at that time but instead He chose his first visitors to be the low-class shepherds and three wise non-believers. And when they did take Him to be dedicated at the temple who met Him there? An ordinary but devout parishioner named Simeon and an old devout widow. It wasn’t the who’s who but the ordinary faithful.

The bottom line is that Jesus was surrounded by believers and non-believers of humble and sincere hearts regardless of station in life or religious order. This is Jesus. The Saviour of the world. He came for us all. He does not care what denomination we belong to or if we have a denomination at all. He does not care about our social status or how many followers we have on Instagram. He is holding out His arms longing for all to come and receive Him. The Gift is free. The worth is inestimable.

Joyfully,