The Gift and What It Tells Us About God

As we get nearer to Christmas, it’s time to wrap this whole thing up about the gift that God gave the world (please forgive the pun). We’ve examined how God gave us the gift of Jesus to save us from our self-destructive path of sin and death. Then we looked into how God wanted to restore mankind to his original purpose of having us share in the bond of fellowship and love that the Triune God has shared for eternity. And then we saw how we can live with peace and joy because of this precious gift of Jesus.

So now we bring it all together. What does this gift tell us about God? What does it reveal about the longing of His heart? And how does this impact the way He interacts with us?

To put it in its most straightforward terms, the gift of Jesus comes from a heart of love. All over Scripture, we see again and again that God loves us. It’s not because we’ve done anything to earn or deserve that love. It’s simply because, as John plainly states, God is love (1 John 4:8, 16).

It’s because He is love that He created us in the first place. It’s because He is love that He wanted us to share in His love and fellowship. It’s because He is love that He desired to save us from what was destroying us. It’s because He is love that Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit willingly took it upon themselves to affect our salvation. And it’s because He is love that He longs to make us new and bring us together into His family.

Let’s compare this God of love to the God that we often hear about in certain circles. If you listen to that version of God, He is typically angry at us because of all the stupid, sinful things we do. He is so angry that if we don’t stop sinning, or, at the very least, ask for forgiveness for every sin we commit, we might suffer His wrath in terrible ways. He might spit us out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16), throw us into the fire like a dead, broken branch (John 15:6), or reject us if we don’t stand firm to the end (Matthew 10:22). Any way you look at it, we would be in danger of losing our salvation or never being saved in the first place.

But can this be true? Would the God who went through all the trouble He went through to save us really get so angry at us for our stumbles that He’d be willing to throw us away? Would the One who suffered, bled, and died to restore and reconcile us really end up saying that we weren’t worth it after all? I don’t think so. God knew we would still have our struggles with sin from time to time, so why would he bother giving us the gift of Jesus if He knew He would end up rejecting us anyway? It just doesn’t make sense.

What does make sense is that His love for us is so wide and long and high and deep (Ephesians 3:18) that He would never give up. Just like how Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will not rest until he has found the lost sheep, so God will keep pursuing us with His love because His greatest desire is to save us and to bring us into His circle of love, joy, and peace. That’s why He gave us the gift, and that’s how He interacts with us. Everything He does is rooted in His love for us. And because of that, I am confident that nothing, not even ourselves, can ever separate us from His love (Romans 8:39).

So take heart this Christmas season. Look at that Nativity set you have in your front yard, or in your living room, or at your church, and recognize that when the angels announced “peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14) at the birth of Jesus 2,000 years ago that that announcement was for you and for me. In fact, it was for the whole world. So rest in God’s mercy, grace, and unending love. That baby in that Nativity scene represents all of that and more. Know for certain that He loves you and He always will. You are precious to Him. That’s why He gave you the gift of Jesus and that’s why He went through all the trouble He did. You’re worth it!

So on behalf of the staff here at Essential Grace (that’s me and my wonderful wife, who has to listen to me read all these to her before I post them), we wish you a Merry Christmas. And don’t forget to thank God for His incredible gift of love and grace.