One that will continue in our family for many years to come.
It's Christmas Eve...The tree is lit and decorated. We gather together in our living room. Each family member is given a piece of paper and a pen. On that small piece of paper, we write something that we personally want to give to Jesus.
It could be a dream...something we need His help with...whatever we personally want to give over to Him. We then put all our papers in this little brown box (in the photo) and put it on the Christmas tree. It is our gift to Jesus that Christmas.
After a whole year has gone by...we gather ourselves around the tree on Christmas Eve and open up the little brown box. Most of us usually forget what we had given over to Jesus the previous Christmas. So it's always exciting when we take out our papers and see what Jesus has done over the last year with the gift we gave to Him. How He has worked in our lives, how He has grown our character, and how He has loved us in that specific thing we gave to Him.
Did you notice?... This gift to Jesus is not wrapped in fancy paper...It's just the box, as it is.
When we give a gift, we usually wouldn't just give it in the box. Right? We want it to look pretty on the outside...all put together. Nice to look at.
Sometimes we do that with ourselves, don't we? I know I have at certain times in my life. We want to look nice to others. So we wrap ourselves up to give the appearance that we are all put together. When underneath we're really not. After all we wouldn't want others to see the box underneath the pretty paper, in its real condition...would we? We've all been there.
This little brown box represents our family giving to Jesus as we are. Jesus doesn't need the fancy paper. He can see through the paper. What we are giving Him inside that box is from our real selves. He prefers it that way.
This Christmas do you know about the gift we are celebrating?
God loved you and me so much that He gave us the best gift! When He brought this gift into the world it wasn't wrapped in fancy paper with big flashy bows. It came...if you will... in a little brown box.
This gift was Jesus.
He was born humbly. In a barn. Not a fancy place at all. His mother who bore him was a little girl-13years old.
But this gift was so important that the angels came out of heaven blowing their trumpets and sounding their horns. They couldn't miss such a joyful and important occasion.
This gift was sent for you and me to save us... and allow us to have a relationship with God and spend eternity with Him.
This Christmas, look for the little brown box. Do you see it? Maybe it will be on your nightstand...or on the kitchen table. Maybe it will be in your car...or on your desk. Maybe on your pillow...or on the window sill, as you look from your hospital bed. Or maybe it will show up in the middle of a fancy party you're at...but you're the only one that can see it. You move a little closer. Right there on the tag, stamped in love, there's a name on it.
Is it YOUR NAME?
Sure enough...Plain as day
Open it...Receive it.
FOR MORE ON THIS GIFT-JESUS: READ MY OWN PERSONAL STORY
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
No comments :
Post a Comment