Gift Exchange

Do you exchange gifts for Christmas? Many families do.

In a gift exchange you give a present to someone else and they give one to you. Some groups do a “White Elephant” gift exchange with funny or unusual gifts.

As the Christmas season rushes to a close, many people will feel pressured to “keep the Christmas Spirit” and buy gifts. Too often they buy unwanted gifts for people they don’t like.

Well hold on just a minute! Before getting all stressed out, stop and ponder the true meaning of the first Christmas more than 2000 years ago.

That year there was just one gift. There was no Christmas tree, no lights and no candy. Santa Claus and his reindeer hadn’t even been thought of yet.

For the first Christmas, God gave and man received. It was the best gift God could possibly give. There was no pretty wrapping paper or colorful ribbon. Instead God’s gift was wrapped in a blanket and placed in a feeding trough—a manger.

The first Christmas gift was a baby named Jesus.

Strange as it may seem, the gift became even more valuable after he died and rose again. Why? Because the gift was not just a baby. It was someone who became the Savior of the world.

When Jesus died on the cross, the Bible says he paid the full penalty for our sin. As a result, our sins can be forgiven and we can become children of God. Forgiveness is God’s gift to us.

To receive God’s gift we must welcome Jesus Christ into our lives. Through him we can have peace with God and eternal life. When we receive him by faith as our Savior and follow him as our Lord we get the only gift that really keeps on giving. Forever.

That’s why we celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus. Year after year people exchange gifts in memory of that first Christmas gift.

Sadly, many leave God’s gift to them untouched and unopened. How can that be? Have we overlooked Jesus at his own birthday celebration?

There is someone else we often forget when we give gifts: God. And he was the one who started the tradition by giving the first gift!

Even though we try to remember gifts for everyone, have we forgotten God?

I urge you to make this year the Christmas you complete the gift exchange with God. First give him yourself. All he wants is for you to become his child.

Next, give your best to others in need. When we do that we follow God’s example, the first giver of the first Christmas Gift.

Then, find and attend a church where you are welcome. Make sure it’s a place where the Bible, God’s Word is clearly taught. Look for a church where you feel God’s presence.

When Christians join together to serve God and others we become better people. And the world becomes a better place. Together we can help others receive God’s gift also.

The true Christmas spirit comes from our love for God and his love for others through us.

So when you exchange gifts this year, remember the first Giver and his first Christmas gift.

The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he GAVE his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!