December 2015

Here we are at the end of another year. The pace of life that seems to swallow us between our Thanksgiving dinners and the preparation for our Christmas celebrations seldom allows much time for reflection on our year and, sadly for some, the ardency surrounding finding the perfect Christmas gift, planning the perfect Christmas party and preparing the perfect Christmas meal causes a type of momentary amnesia about what all the fuss is about. 
Just in case you forgot, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who as the angel declared to the shepherds in the second chapter of Luke, is our savior. In Luke 2:11 we read the angel’s declaration: “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” 
Christ, who is declared Lord and Savior born for us. Chew on that a moment. When the magnitude of such a declaration sinks in, earthly gifts, parties and meals seem to lose some of their luster and we realize that we can’t excel a gift that has already been given. We can’t excel such a gift because all of our efforts are limited. Whatever gift we can give is earthly and human while the gift of a Savior is celestial and divine. 
There is one caveat; any gift however marvelous whether it is earthly or celestial, temporary or eternal, is inefficacious if it is not accepted. This can only be remedied when a person recognizes the significance of the gift and receives it. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12 NASB)

I cannot for a moment imagine that my words will dissipate any of the stress we will all face as we prepare for our Christmas celebrations. I will however make the following appeal to you. Please keep in mind that the best gift ever has already been given. Therefore the best gift we can give to those who have not yet recognized it for what it is (forgiveness of all sin, indwelling of the Holy Spirit and eternity with the Father) and accepted it, is to give them the message of the Gospel. For our loved ones that have already accepted the gift, let’s remember they have already gotten the best possible gift in the universe and since we know we can’t possibly compete with that, we can relax a little. May your December be filled with all the glory the Christmas season brings. 

Merry Christmas and blessings to all, 

​Vic