Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year; it always makes me feel joyful. Growing up, my family had a simple tradition we observed every year.
Early in the morning, my mum would put the turkey in the oven, and I would always awake to its delicious smell. Then we all (except my dad) put on our most elegant clothes and head to the Christmas mass. On the way back, we would stop at the bakery to pick up a Yule log for dessert.
Afterward, the women of the house would finish the side dishes to accompany the turkey. And when all was ready, we would all gather around the table and enjoy the meal together.
We didn’t exchange Christmas gifts, as it’s not part of our culture. The dedication of Americans in shopping for Christmas gifts every year has always fascinated me. I only received Christmas gifts when I believed in Father Christmas A.K.A Santa Claus. Once that bubble burst, the gifting ended.
I don’t quite understand how this gift exchange tradition originated. Perhaps, since the Maggi brought gifts to honor the new-born King, Christians somehow transcribed it to buying presents to each other every year. I mean, it’s true that Christmas is about gifts, but not the ones we make to each other. Christmas, at its core, is about the wonderful gift God made to humankind thousands of years ago: Jesus (John 3:16).
And as John R. Rice said, “you can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face and tell Him you have received His gift.”
But I admit, for most of my life, I never truly appreciated the meaning of Christmas. As a false convert, Christmas was mainly about good food, time with family, and a break from school. And even after I became a true Christian, I still didn’t get the magnitude of Christmas until I had a revelation a couple of years ago.
Jesus is still human!
I previously believed Jesus’ humanity lasted until His death. And after the Ascension, He resumed His original invisible God state and cast aside His body. Oh, how wrong was I!
Jesus became a man forever! His humanity was not for 33 years only; it was for all of eternity. Acts 1:11 says Jesus will return in the same way he went. He left fully God, and fully man; hence, He shall return with both natures.
Paul even mentioned Jesus will still have His glorified body in Heaven. Philippians 3:20-21 says, “our citizenship is in Heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”
This truth blew me away and instilled in me a profound appreciation of Christmas and Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Jesus, who was entirely God, in all His glory and power, willingly humbled Himself to become a human forever (2 Corinthians 8:9). He will never be how he was before the Incarnation.
It also means Jesus’ sacrifice didn’t start in Calvary. It began 2000 years ago in the manger and culminated on the cross when He declared, “it is finished.” John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son. That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
It doesn’t say God so loved the world he crucified his only son, or He killed and raised Him. It says he gave His only Son.
He gave us Jesus our righteousness, who became like us so that we could become like Him (1 John 3:2).
He gave us Jesus our sacrificial lamb, who bore God’s wrath on our behalf and took away our sins (Romans 5:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
He gave us Jesus our role model, who lived a perfect life without sin and taught us how to be holy (1 John 3:5, 1 Peter 2:22)
He gave us Jesus, our high priest: who can sympathize with our sufferings and temptation (Hebrews 4:15).
He gave us Jesus our resurrection and our hope for eternal life (John 11:25).
He gave us Jesus; He gave us Christmas!
God’s grace in giving Jesus to the word is truly an inexpressible gift (2 Corinthians 9:15), and it is the gift that truly keeps on giving. If you have also received the Father’s gift, do share it with others! Material things are nice, but the Gospel is the best Christmas gift we can ever give to anyone.
