Gifts Part 1

As we journey forth into the Christmas season, I think back to last Christmas. Last year I got a really great gift, a new baseball bat. My old one was one to the cheaper models and while it got me through the year, it wasn’t a great bat. And to my surprise on Christmas morning I opened up a package with a brand new, top of the line, Demarini baseball bat! I was so shocked; I didn’t know what to say so I mumbled a “thank you” and gave my parents a hug. Looking back on that year there was a lot of stuff I did to not deserve that great gift. While I try my best to be a respectful and loving son/brother, there still are days when nothing seems to be going right and I take it out on the people I love most. Now, multiply that scenario by 1 million (no really, I did the calculations) and you get what it was like on a Christmas morning roughly 2000 years ago. There was nothing we as a people did to earn the gift God gave us, looking at the Israelite history/prophets you see that there was a ton they did to deserve the opposite. But the crazy thing is, is that God loves us so much. He didn’t have to give up His Son, and Jesus never had to die on the cross, the amazingly beautiful thing about is that it all happened! My dad asked me if I wanted a new baseball bat and I said no, Id didn’t want to give him any of the trouble of buying me a new bat, besides my old one was fine. But my dad did despite the fact that he didn’t need to. While getting caught up in the swirl around us this time of year, I say we try once to step back and focus on the real meaning of this magnificent holiday, that while we give and receive gifts from our friends and family, we also receive the greatest gift of all, a life with God through His Son.