The Heart Of Christmas Is Love Series

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

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Let’s be honest. As we celebrate Christmas day with friends and family, there will most assuredly be a gift that you have to figure out how to respond to without hurting someone’s feelings. Your brain may be saying, ‘What were they thinking?’, but your words need to be more delicately chosen. I want to offer you eight ways to respond to a gift that may be less than desirable:

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8. Well, well, well, now, there’s a gift!

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7. No, really, I didn’t know that there was a Chia Pet tie! Oh, wow! It’s a clip-on too!

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6. You know, I always wanted one of these! How did you ever think of giving me this?

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5. You know what? I’m going to find a special place to put this.

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4. Boy, you don’t see craftsmanship like that every day!

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3. And it’s such an interesting color too!

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2. You say that was the last one? Am I glad that you snapped that baby up!

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1. You shouldn’t have! No, really, I mean it. You really shouldn’t have!

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So, there you go. I hope this prepares you for any and all scenarios. Today, I want to speak about a gift you don’t have to rehearse a response for. It is the greatest gift that has ever been given to us, and Christmas is the time that we celebrate it being presented.

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When God sent his son to be born, it was a full expression of his unfailing love. His love is a gift that is thoughtful because it meets our greatest need—our sinful state. It is a gift that is priceless because it could never be purchased apart from Christ’s blood. It is a gift that is timeless because the grace of God is never-ending. Above all else, at the heart of Christmas is God’s love.

I. GOD’S GIFT WAS RIGHT ON TIME

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Every year there are people who ask me what I want for a gift and I tell them and then I get it. I once heard of a family that gave the same $20 bill to each other for birthdays; they just passed it around throughout the year. It’s easier to do something like that than to agonize over finding the ‘perfect gift.’ But have you ever received a present from someone and you could not believe how perfect the timing was? Maybe because of something you were going through or because of a need that was met, it was as if the giver knew just what your heart wanted. Those are the best kind of gifts because they reach beyond or own wants or needs and into the soul of our lives. Timing really is everything.

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The book of Galatians talks about the timing of Christmas as Paul wrote to the church in Galatia. "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:4–5 LSB).

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From the moment creation was broken by sin, God began to hatch a plan to restore and rescue all that he had made. The Bible is an account of his divine efforts and faithfulness to reverse the effects of the Fall. Motivated by love, God partners with those who love and trust him to enact the greatest rescue plan in history. Paul wrote that when Jesus came and was born to Mary, the fullness of time had come. It was the right moment in history to send his son to make a way for the world to be restored. Because of love, God was not content to sit back and watch his creation suffer forever. He went to great lengths to be with us and make us a part of his family once again.

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Tracy Howell of Leonard, Texas, found a unique way of showing her husband both her love and fellowship in his daily life. On December 1, 2020, she shared the following in a Facebook post, which has since racked up hundreds of thousands of shares.

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“Clifford and I have been married almost 41 years, and I have made his lunch every working day since day one. On occasion, I would join him on the job site and have lunch with him. He made the comment once that lunch tasted better when you share it with someone you love. Soon after that, while fixing his sandwich one night, I took a bite out of it before putting it away. When he got home (long before cell phones) he commented that someone took a bite out of his sandwich. I told him that since I couldn’t join him for lunch, I took a bite so he knew I was joining him. I continue to do this frequently (unless it’s tuna or pimento cheese) and he still says, 'Saw you joined me for lunch today and it sure was good.’”