The Perfect Gift
by Kellie Copeland Swisher
Christmas. It’s my favorite time of the year.
It’s a common sentiment, but true for me as well as for millions of others around the world. A time of year that brings people together—worshiping, laughing, cooking and spending time together.
For our family, it is a time to slow down and enjoy each other and the many blessings the Lord has poured out on us. Of course there are the more “busy” things of the Christmas season that must be done. Things like cleaning and decorating, traveling and shopping.
Shopping at Christmas. Now that brings to mind a whole different idea of “togetherness.” And as I was considering this, I began to think about the importance we place on the material things we buy for each other at Christmas. We begin months in advance, thinking, researching, searching for the perfect gifts for our loved ones.
My thoughts went back to a timeless classic Christmas tale. "The Gift of the Magi" is the story of a poor, young couple who were so eager to please each other that they sold their most beloved possessions to buy a gift for each other—she, her beautiful hair to buy him a watch fob; and he, his pocket watch to buy a comb for her lovely hair.
Their selfless sacrifice reminds me of what Jesus did for you and me.
Set Aside His Position in Heaven
That first Christmas in Bethlehem was the Father’s gift of love to a sin-filled world. We all know John 3:16, "New Living Translation," “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” God gave…but I want to focus here on what Jesus gave.
Philippians 2:6-8," NLT," says, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
18 : BVOV
