December 25, 2018
Everybody knows that money can’t buy happiness, yet people are all too eager to overlook that fact during holidays. It’s so easy to get caught up in the frenzied rush to buy the latest gadgets and toys for your loved ones, all the while crowding out those precious moments you could spend with your family and friends, sharing with them the greatest gift in the world, the love in your heart.
The Christmas season is about Me, yet the stores don’t carry the gifts that I long for on My birthday. The gift that I love to receive the most is the same gift that is so priceless to your family and friends—your love, time, and friendship.
What I most desire is a place in your heart. The best present you can give Me is an invitation to move into your heart and never leave you. I never beat down anyone’s door; I always wait for an invitation. I just knock, and hope you’ll hear My voice knocking at the door of your heart and open it to welcome Me.1
Your heart is a priceless gift, and I cherish it. Other gifts grow old and break or wear out with time, but I promise that if you give Me the gift of your heart, I’ll fill it with My eternal warmth and love so that it stays young forever.
My gift to you is the promise of My presence. I want to be nearer and dearer to you than any earthly friend or lover can be, and I have so much to give you, more than enough to fill every day from now through eternity—starting with true, unfailing, unconditional love. I know you’re happiest when you feel loved, and My love is the richest, fullest form of love there is. It’s not the fleeting happiness you sometimes find elsewhere, but deep, abiding happiness in all of its many hues and tones—joy, comfort, contentment, peace, stability, security, positiveness, delight.
My gift for you is not for sale in any store, because it can never be bought or sold, but I give it freely. It will never get old, never break down or wear out, and you can never outgrow it. No one can take it from you, and it will last forever. It never changes, but will never cease to surprise and amaze you. You can share it all you want, and there will always be plenty to go around. In fact, the more you share it, the more you’ll have.
And I will always be with you, to enjoy the good times with you and to help you through the tough ones. You can talk to Me any time, anywhere, and I’ll whisper back to your heart or mind just what you need at that moment. Reach out and accept the gift of My presence.
I am the Word that became flesh. I have always been, and I will always be. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 As you think about Me as a baby, born in Bethlehem, do not lose sight of My divinity. This baby who grew up and became a Man-Savior is also God Almighty! It could not have been otherwise.
My sacrificial life and death would have been insufficient if I were not God. So rejoice that the Word, who entered the world as a helpless infant, is the same One who brought the world into existence.
Though I was rich, for your sake I became poor so that you might become rich. No Christmas present could ever compare with the treasure you have in Me! I remove your sins as far as the east is from the west—freeing you from all condemnation. I gift you with unimaginably glorious life that will never end! ...
I am the greatest gift imaginable! When you have Me, you have everything you need—for this life and the next. I have promised to meet all your needs according to My glorious riches.3 Yet My loved ones sometimes fail to enjoy the riches I provide… Instead of rejoicing in all that they have, they long for what they do not have. As a result, they become discontented.
I’m training you to practice the sacrifice of thanksgiving—thanking Me in all circumstances. First, give thanks for the blessings you can see in your life. Then stop and ponder the awesome gift of knowing Me. I am your living God, your loving Savior, your constant Companion. No matter how much or how little you have in this world, your relationship with Me makes you immeasurably rich.
So whenever you are counting your blessings, be sure to include the infinite wealth you have in Me. Add Me into the equation, and your gratitude will grow exponentially. Whatever you have + Me = an incalculable fortune!4
What can you give Me, the King of kings and Lord of lords, whose throne is heaven and whose footstool is earth?5 What could you possibly give Me, the one who has everything? Gifts from your heart. Any gift from the heart is a gift that I will treasure.
Each person is created with a unique blend of gifts, talents, and abilities. Some may be natural abilities—a quick or inquisitive mind, or an aptitude for a certain skill or type of work, for example. Some are gifts of the spirit, such as the gifts of humility, optimism, compassion, and self-sacrifice. But one of the greatest gifts of all is the gift of love. This is a gift that everyone receives a measure of, and it’s a part of having been created in God’s own image.
All these precious gifts have been given to enrich your life and the lives of others. It makes Me happy when you use them to benefit others and make them happy.
What can you give Me this Christmas and in the coming year? Use what you have, what you’ve already been gifted with, to the full. In doing so, you are giving back to Me, and the most wonderful thing happens: Your gifts and talents grow, they are multiplied, and that love that was your motivation spreads from heart to heart and comes back to you.
Published on Anchor December 2018. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music taken from the Rhythm of Christmas album. Used by permission.
1 Revelation 3:20.
2 John 1:1.
3 Philippians 4:19.
4 Sarah Young, Jesus Always (Thomas Nelson, 2017).
5 1 Timothy 6:15; Isaiah 66:1.
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