Written by Beloved by Him

So what did you ask for this Christmas?

When we were little, it was a doll, or maybe a bike, or some special thing that caught our eye. As we get older, we start thinking bigger—clothes, Ipods, a Wii maybe. Christmas is the time to shoot for the moon, and if we miss, we should still be among the stars, right?

Now think about this. Have you ever gone to your best friend’s birthday party, and handed her a list of the gifts you wanted to receive on her birthday? Of course not. You bring her the gift, celebrating her day by putting the focus on her, and by sharing in her joy on her special day.

Is that what we do on Jesus’ birthday?

If I’m being honest, I don’t. I’ve put so many of my own expectations on Christmas, it might as well have been my own birthday. I’ve coveted presents. I’ve decorated so that people would be impressed. I’ve bought gifts out of obligation, and I’ve been a total Scrooge with a bad attitude and crazy expectations on my loved ones. I wouldn’t act like that on my birthday, so why do I treat the birth of my Savior like it’s some earthly extravaganza?

For sure, the actual day of His birth was no party, for Him or his parents. There was no cozy crib or clean hospital, only hay, rags, and a feed trough. Shepherds came to that first party in the stable, smelly from the field and the sheep. This was how the King of Kings came to the world: the greatest gift ever given to mankind was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger (Luke 2:12).
Not every gift is what we expect.

Some are good and perfect.

We already have the most precious gift of all if we’ve received Christ as our Savior. We’ve been eternally blessed in more ways than we can imagine, much less ever have deserved. If we never received another thing from God, we couldn’t be more blessed. Take a minute to read Ephesians 1:3-8,

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.[b] 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”

We should be praising God every day for all that He has done for us through Christ. If we could fully see and grasp eternity in God’s kingdom, we would probably never ask for another earthly desire again. But God wouldn’t withhold His blessings from us; He loves to give His children good gifts when they are in line with His will and in His timing (Matt. 7:11). So let’s make a new Christmas list, and ask Him for a few things that we know He will give us.

1. Joy. This should be a time of rejoicing as we honor the birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago. His birth meant the end of our separation from God, and the beginning of a new and eternal life for all who believe in Him. Let’s ask for a new awareness of all that He has done for us, and a heart of praise as we rejoice in our Savior. (Is. 12:3, Rom. 15:13, Ps. 4:7,16:11, 33:1, 90:14, I Thess. 5:16, John 15:11).

2. Peace. Between our desires for what we want and our worries for what we need, we can relax and know that God is going to provide for us according to His riches in glory. We can have peace knowing that He’s provided for our eternal need of salvation, and He will always take care of us, His children. (Ps. 4:8, Phil. 4:7, Is. 26:3, 32:17, John 14:27,16:33, II Thess. 3:16, I Thess. 5:23, Rom. 5:1)

3. Thankfulness. Let us have a heart that is grateful for whatever we are given by others this Christmas, because we appreciate the giver as well as the gift. May we also be thankful for what we receive from God’s hand, now and in the coming year, because it is from our Heavenly Father Who loves us and works everything according to His plan and for our good. Let us not desire what is not God’s best for our lives, but only those things that are in line with His will for us. (Col. 1:12, 2:7, I Thess. 5:18, II Cor. 4:15, 9:15, I Tim. 4:4, Eph. 5:20, Phil. 4:6, Ps. 106:15, James 4:3)

4. Love. I pray that our hearts are filled with love this Christmas season and in the New Year. It is the love of God that makes it possible for us to love Him and others. As He fills our hearts with His love, we will find that we want to obey, honor, and glorify Him, by sharing that love with those whom God has put in our lives and on our paths. May His love be the gift we give freely, even as we have received it freely from Him. (Matt. 10:8, I Tim. 1:5, Eph. 2:4, 5:2, Rom. 5:5, 8, 12:10, 13:10, I John 3:18, 4:7-8, Deut. 6:5, John 13:34-35)

This Christmas, I hope that we will let our hearts be focused on the One Who gave all He had to give us everything, instead of being wrapped up in our desires for what we don’t have. May our holidays be “holy days,” set apart to honor Him Who is the real reason for the season. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God bless you ladies!!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
 

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