By Jerry Morningstar, Sully Community Church pastor
The Christmas holiday is nearly upon us. For many, that will mean family gatherings and a time of opening Christmas presents.
I remember one year when I was younger, my siblings and I agreed to a gift limit of a certain dollar amount. We said, “Don’t spend more than $25 on your gift for your sibling.” My brother Rich got my name in the drawing and he bought me $25 worth of Mountain Dew – about 120 cans. I made a big Mountain Dew pyramid in my bedroom out of the cans, and they lasted until the month of March. That was a memorable gift. The only negative was that he kept wanting me to share since I had so many!
When we think of the true meaning of Christmas and the gift of God’s Son, we are reminded that the gift God gave us was of infinite worth. “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). The gift God gave us for Christmas was the inestimable gift of His life.
Jesus would eventually fulfill the purpose of the incarnation by giving His life to pay the price for our salvation. We sing the words of the simple chorus: “O how He loves you and me. He gave His life – what more could He give?” The Bethlehem birth and the whole Christmas narrative find their ultimate significance in the cross of Calvary. The motive behind such a gift is stated clearly to be that of divine love for sinners.
When God looked down on humanity’s plight, He saw that we were lost in sin and destined to perish in that sin. The gift of Christmas is about the high price paid to secure our redemption.
Peter expresses the worth of the gift by looking at the price tag, “You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ,” (I Peter 1:18, 19).
This Christmas, spend some time thanking God for the costly gift of salvation given to us through faith in Jesus Christ. It was truly a gift without limits.
