Have you ever been given a gift that you just could not believe was yours for the taking? A gift that you just knew it was too good to be true. A gift you never thought you would get in a million years because you did not deserve it or because you know you didn’t work for it?
For the past few months, my son Jalen has been borrowing my husbands truck to get back and forth to school and he was quite content with that privilege. But this Christmas, we made the decision to gift our son a car. To be honest, he did not deserve it. He did not work for it. He did not save for it. And he knew these things. So he had no realistic expectation of us purchasing a car for him. We decided to give him his gift while we were out of town a couple of days before Christmas. I tried to come up with a creative idea and really be thoughtful about the presentation but I was so nervous I could not think creatively. How would he react? Would he act like a spoiled brat and not be grateful? Have you seen the video of the kid who gets a beater truck and throws a huge tantrum. What if Jalen acted like that? Here was his initial reaction:
How fitting and natural was his response, Disbelief. But what about his inability to accept that we were actually giving him this gift?
We kept telling him, this is not a joke or prank, this is really our gift to you, just accept it. Take the gift! Jeez! And immediately, Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “How many people have rejected my gift? How many have demanded proof? How many refuse to believe the gift is truly theirs for the taking?” Wow!
John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, he gave his only Son. That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
God gave us a gift. The gift is his Son, Jesus. There is nothing we can do to deserve it, there is nothing we can do to work for it, but we can just freely accept the gift from our loving Father who gives according to his glorious riches. We will never be able to repay him, nor does he expect it, all He wants is our hearts and for us to accept the gift.
So this Christmas, I encourage you to accept the gift if you have not done so already. And if you have accepted Christ and acknowledge he is your Savior, take the time this Christmas to enjoy and reflect on the Best. Gift. Ever. JESUS!