THE PERFECT GIFT
El Regalo Perfecto
By Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Saturday, December 10, 2011
Is there such a thing as a "perfect gift?" [Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
She meant well. I'm sure she did, as we stood at the same mirror applying makeup to our individual faces. Or, perhaps she was just being conversational.
"So, do you have your Christmas shopping all done?"
Bang! It was like a verbal shot that I didn't even see coming!
"No," I replied hesitantly. "It takes a while to recover strength after having pneumonia."
Although I had not mentioned here that I had pneumonia in early November, this woman knew of my illness.
"Yes, I guess it does," she paused briefly before continuing her topic. "I've almost got my shopping done!"
Oh, the seasonal guilt! In past years, before we started the website, I had made some of our gifts myself. No longer. Although I had bought a few gifts during the year so as to spread the expense out over the months, I was nowhere near done! I had not bought anything for my husband. Oh, and what does one get a nearly ten-year-old boy?
Our grandson delights himself with one of his presents on a previous Christmas Day. [Photographer: Mary Hunt Webb.]
Perhaps my delay was brought on by my memory of last year's early shopping. That was when I bought eight gift calendars showing the delights of Hawaii in full-color splendor. Then, I hid them away to wrap later. I did such a good job of hiding them that I finally found them in March. I'm sure that kind of thing never happens at your house!
So, this Christmas, I am lagging behind, trying to get gifts bought and stuffed away, where I hope I can find them when I have time to wrap them.
With all of this focus on buying gifts for those dear to us, it is easy to forget that the purpose of Christmas is not material gifts. It is not even about people, although that is the way we show God's love. No, the purpose of Christmas is to remember the greatest gift of all - God's gift of His only Son. God sent Jesus to earth as a baby.
Mary speaks to audiences both large and small. [Photographer: Morris Webb, Jr.]
While every baby is a gift, Jesus was a special One because He is the Messiah. He came to offer forgiveness of sins as well as eternal life to all that believe that He is the Son of God.
Like gifts under the Christmas tree, forgiveness and eternal life are not ours until we accept them. [Photographer: Morris Webb, Sr.]
Like gifts waiting under the Christmas tree, forgiveness and eternal life are not ours until we receive them. And eternal life really is a gift! It's not an automatic result of living a good life. We can't earn it by doing good works any more than we earn our Christmas presents. A gift represents the love that someone else has for us, and Jesus truly is God's gift of love. God loves you.
The Bible tells us of God's love in 1 John 4:9, which says, "9) God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him." (New Living Translation)
If you want to receive God's gift, I encourage you to speak the words of this prayer and thank God for His gift and for His love:
Dear Lord, Thank You for Your love, although I don't feel lovable right now. Thank You for caring for me so much that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to earth to offer forgiveness and eternal life before I knew I needed them and before I was even born. I receive Your gifts as well as Your Son, Jesus, as my Lord and Savior. Please help me to feel Your love. There is so much I don't understand right now, but I trust You to make things clear as time goes on. Thank You. I pray these things in the name of Jesus, Your Son. Amen.
Whether you prayed this prayer aloud or simply under your breath and in your heart, you now have God's gift of eternal life. He has forgiven you of every wrong that you have done. Continue to pray often because talking to God is like talking to family and friends: The more you do it, the stronger your relationship becomes. That is true with your relationship with God because you are now part of His family. You now have brothers and sisters in Christ who are praying for you. That includes us because we pray for you, our visitor to our Webbsite. As you grow in your relationship with God, you will become aware of the bond between yourself and other believers so that you will begin to pray for them, too. The more you pray for others, the more God will bless you. You have begun to live eternally!
Welcome to the family of God! You have just received God's perfect gift!
Bible verse for the week:
1 John 4:9 "9) God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him." (New Living Translation)
1 Juan 4:9 "9) En esto se mostró el amor de Dios para con nosotros, en que Dios envió a su Hijo unigénito al mundo, para que vivamos por él." (Reina-Valera 1960)
While every baby is a gift, Jesus was a special One because He is the Messiah. [Photographer: Morris Webb, Jr.]
