The Greatest Gift

Yesterday I received the most special gift any human being has ever given me. My father is 89 years old and has never on his own, without any urging, given anyone a gift. He is a man of the old school who didn’t participate in that sort of thing. He always has been a wonderful father without any emotion in his devotion. He worked hard all his life and provided for his family and was a good husband to my mom and a good father to my brother and me. I go to see him about once a week, and we spend the day together. He is healthy and strong and walks a mile in the morning and a mile in the evening. He is a remarkable person.

Well, when I walked into his house yesterday, he smiled and told me that santa had had a difficult time finding the farm but he did and had left a gift for someone who was very good and who was always doing things for others. My dad said that santa had to dig deep in his bag and he found something for me. This is a beautiful story so bear with me. It has a purpose. I collect thimbles. About 4 weeks ago, I brought daddy to my house to see the Christmas decorations and my tree with all of the ornaments (I also collect Christmas ornaments.). He asked me if I still collected thimbles and if I had any of the presidents. I told him that I still did collect thimbles and I had none of the presidents. I didn’t think anything about his questions. Yesterday, my dad presented me with a gift of a thimble case with thimbles for every President, including the current President, in it.

Now you can see why this gift is so special to me. It represents thoughtfulness and unselfishness for someone. My father crossed a threshold yesterday in giving.

This Christmas, do you need to cross a threshold in giving? Do you think about what others are going to give you and what you are going to give someone else? Actually neither thought is the most important thought for Christmas. Our thoughts should be on the greatest gift that we have ever been given----Jesus Christ. And we should be pondering what we can give Him this year? He only wants one thing----He wants you and me. He wants all of us, nothing held back from Him. When we hold back from Him, He cannot bring us the fullness of Himself, which He totally desires to do. If we are full of ourselves, we cannot be full of Him.

There is a story circulating on the internet that I think is wonderful. There was a Christmas program at school and some of the parents who would not be able to make the program because of work schedules were invited to see the dress rehearsal. The children were elementary school age. Part of the program involved children holding up a letter of the alphabet that would spell out the name of the program----CHRISTMAS LOVE. One little girl who was responsible for the M had it upside down and everyone was snickering and giggling and pointing fingers at her until they realized what had been spelled for everyone to see. The remarkable thing about all of this was that the program was at a public school and public schools have to be so careful now to do the politically correct thing or they can have all kinds of repercussions where Christian is concerned. It looks like the Lord has the last word. The letters spelled CHRISTWASLOVE.

Christmas is about celebrating God’s love for us, which He expressed when he sent His only Son Jesus the Word to the earth as a baby, to take on a flesh and blood body. In Ephesians 2 we read that God is so rich in mercy. In order to satisfy His great and wonderful and intense love for us, He sent Jesus. He sent Jesus, knowing that His Son would die in our place, take our place in sin and bear the fullness of the consequences of sin for us. The Father also knew that His Son would rise from the dead and make the way for us to rise from the death that sin had placed us in. The Father did this so that He might clearly demonstrate to mankind throughout all eternity the vastness of His great love for us. Jesus is our love gift.

Let’s make our love and devotion for Him our love gift to Him this year and forever. As you sit reading this Pearls today, take time, stop, lift up your hands and give thanksgiving to Him. And offer your total life to Him unconditionally, with no strings attached. Give Him the totality of your love. Give your all to Him. He is so deserving of our love. He loves totally, unconditionally, without reservation. He has chosen to see us as perfected in Him and not as imperfect vessels. Part of that love gift to Him is to see others the way He sees them. Put on your Love glasses this Christmas and choose to see others the way God does. Look past their rudeness and pushiness and ignorance and see a person who needs to come in contact with Love Himself, Who dwells in you.

Purpose from this day on that wherever you go, whether to the grocery store or shopping in the mall or that mandatory Christmas party at work where they will not be lifting up Jesus, purpose that you will be the gift of Love to people. They need Him. They need Love Himself. You have what they need. You don’t have to say a word. Just represent Him. Be loving and kind and merciful and patient and good to them, even when they don’t seem to reciprocate. Love is not about reciprocity. It is about giving. Give of yourself this Christmas. That is the greatest gift you can give because when you give of yourself as a Christian, you are giving them Jesus. You and He are one. Focus on that reality. You are One with Him, so wherever you go and whatever you say, make a decision to pour forth Love Himself. Everyone needs Him, the greatest gift ever given.