Christmas 2011

God's gift to man:  JESUS


     Every Christmas, my family makes wish lists, then hands them out to relatives to use as a reference for gifts.  We have some relatives who express a very selfless and heartfelt desire to give my husband, daughter, and me exactly what we want and, if possible, everything we want.  Unfortunately (from to their perspective), like most of us, they have a budget.  It hurts them that they can't grant every desire of ours every Christmas; and not just ours, but everyone on their gift list.  They would love to be able to give everything to each one of us because they love us that much.  They have so much love for us that their only desire is for us to have everything we want.
     God has a similar love for us, His creation.  He loves us so passionately that He wanted to give us everything.  He desires to have a relationship with us, so when sin entered the picture, He chose to provide a way for us to cross the great divide and commune with Him, to know Him, and to walk with Him.  He sent His only Son, Jesus (John 3:16), to die on the cross for us.  To be beaten, battered, and scarred even though He was innocent.  To shed His blood for us and endure such an agonizing and painful death for us.  All of that was necessary for us to spend eternity with Him in heaven.  He took all of our wish lists, which Jesus was not included in, and lovingly gave us what we really NEEDED, not what we wanted.  We all need Jesus because that's all that matters in this life.  We are here to love and worship Him forever and to lead others to this amazing and sacrificial love for humankind.  
    Therefore, this Christmas, while you're reviewing your loved ones' wish lists, think about what they need instead of what they want.  Everything on our wish lists will pass away.  Nothing will go to eternity with us and nothing will remain when life on Earth ends.  Jesus is the only One Who will last forever.