How to Ruin Christmas

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10 ESV).

Christmas is a very special time for our family. Not only do our family all gather for Christmas, Mary’s sister’s family gathers with us. We open gifts together usually on Christmas Eve, though this year it will be on Christmas Day. It is an amazing display of love and thoughtfulness amidst the tearing apart of numerous gifts! Everybody really seems to like giving a gift more than receiving it. And though none of us has a lot of money to spend, everyone seems to sacrifice, if necessary, to buy or make a gift that is really a gift of love. Now here's a way I could ruin this beautiful scene. Let’s say that after opening a gift from one of my boys that I get up and go to him and pull money out of my pocket insisting that I pay for the gift. They would be angry and hurt, I’m sure. At the very least it would be an insult to them since I would be trying to buy what they have already paid for.

It is no different than what some people have done with the eternal gift of life from God in Jesus. God knows exactly what you need, and although it was very expensive, He loves you enough to go ahead and buy it. There's only one huge problem here - the gift isn't yours yet. Because you won't take it for what it is - a GIFT. Eternal life is the gift that God wants to give you. If you know you've got that, the fear of death is gone, you know when you die; you'll go to heaven. You no longer need to have that awful nagging fear that you could be in hell for all eternity. And you're ready to live.

Most everyone wants to go to heaven - and most everyone is going about it the wrong way. We think we can pay for the gift ourselves, earning the gift by being a good person. However, as we see in today’s reading, it is only through faith that we may receive God’s gift. It becomes yours when you reach out to Jesus and accept Him and His gift in faith. And if you've never taken this gift of life He paid so much for you to have, why not now? The gift you need most is one you could never pay for. But, the real good news is that Jesus did, with everything He had! Now, in this countdown to Christmas make that gift yours. Don’t ruin Christmas by continuing to try to buy God’s gift with good works. Just accept what He has already purchased for you!