Guest Writer, Courtney Mayfield, Director of Development, Grace Community School
Whether you plan to finish your Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, already finished buying and wrapping well before Thanksgiving, or are someone like me who falls in the middle, I am 99.9% sure you have a list of Christmas gifts to give this year. If gift-giving is your love language or just the opposite, I would guess that there are some gifts on your list that you are genuinely excited to give and some that are just a check-off-the-list gift out of obligation. But in all of these circumstances, I want to challenge you to remember why it is that we give gifts at Christmas.
God gave us the greatest gift of all. “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). If you are like me and have a tendency to skip over reading verses you already know, I ask you to consider re-reading these words slowly. They are likely written on your heart already, but ponder on them for a minute if you will.
He gave us Jesus in the form of a baby, to live a perfect life to die a cruel death on a cross so that every one of us may be saved from our sin nature and have a relationship with God while here on earth and live infinitely with him in Heaven afterward. It’s because of this ultimate gift He gave us that we have the privilege to share His amazing love through giving to others at Christmas and throughout the rest of the year.
So, you may be giving a gift out of tradition, making a first-time donation in memory of a loved one, giving a gift to someone who you feel has everything already, or giving a gift to a homeless man you know has hardly anything. But I pray this Christmas that you give your gifts with a spirit of love overflowing from the joy of being given the gift of Christ as your Savior.
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