The Most Precious Gift

 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

—John 3:16

If you are a parent and you had a precious only son, would you give up your son to certain death in order to redeem the lives of other people you loved? Most parents would have a difficult time making that decision.

To some lesser—yet very important—extent, every parent who has had a child enter military service, or become a police officer, or a firefighter, has struggled with the reality that their dearly loved child might well die in service to the needs of their country or community. But, though death surely haunts all three of those professions, it is not a absolutely certain death.

When we consider the celebration of Christmas, we must understand the most precious gift that Christmas represents. Because God so loved the people in the world that He had created—people who had sinned and turned their backs on God, and because His holiness demands that a price be paid for that sin—God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to become a human being and ultimately die on the cruel cross of Calvary to redeem all those God would draw irresistibly into His mercy, grace, and love.

I recently heard the December 22, 2016, edition of the “I’ll Tell You What” podcast on the internet from Fox News. One of the co-hosts, Chris Stirewalt, shared why he doesn’t hype the concept of Santa Claus to his own children. He explained that the idea expressed in the Santa Claus myth is one that, if children would only be good enough, Santa would reward them by bringing them presents. Mr. Stirewalt stated that this concept is antithetical to the real meaning of Christmas, which is God so loved sinners—people who, on their own, could never be “good enough”—that He sent His only Son to die in their place and bring them salvation.

To say the least, I was impressed with this statement. And, my already growing esteem for Chris Stirewalt jumped a few more notches upward.

The real meaning of Christmas is captured in our Lord’s own words, recorded in John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

As we celebrate the birth of our King, and eagerly await His return, let’s not lose sight of this most precious gift that God has given us through His one and only Son, Jesus.

Georg Friedrich Händel expressed this most precious gift in this way from his famous Oratorio, Messiah:

 

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