The Greatest Gift of All (12/21/2010)

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. -2 Corinthians 9:15

December is the month for giving. Just four days from now, the majority of Americans will gather together with their families and exchange the gifts that they have put so much--or so little--thought into. Some gifts will have been worked hard for. Some people will have saved up all year long to buy a very special gift for who they consider to be a very special person. Others will have worked hard to hand-make a gift for someone. And although many gifts will be treasured and even considered priceless, there will still be many that will be discarded and ignored. Those gifts will not be gifts at all, for a gift is not a gift without both a giver and a receiver.

Two thousand years ago, the ultimate gift was given. Or should I say offered? And like many gifts today, this gift was also rejected. You see, this gift was in the form of a little baby, who was forced to be born in stable because there was no room for Him in the inn. And although He grew up to heal the sick, and make the lame walk and the dumb talk, and to make the deaf to hear and the blind to see, and to make the dead to live again, He was rejected, hated, and despised. And after over thirty year, He was beaten and nailed to a cross. But that's only the first half of the story.

Three days later, He came out of the grave, defeating sin and death. Some have accepted this gift--the greatest gift of all. Because, you see, the gift that was a tiny baby rapped in dirty rags in a manger is everlasting life--deliverance from sin. That baby was Jesus, God's own Son. He still offers that gift today. Will you accept Him or reject Him?

If you haven't accepted God's gift of eternal life, you still can. But time is running out. All you have to do is repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ to save you. If you're reading this, it is no coincidence. God put me here today to offer you the greatest gift of all. Please don't reject God's gift to you!