The Christmas Gift You Might Be Missing

Have you ever been given a gift that you never actually used? I have. One Christmas, I received one of those mesh shower caddies filled with hotel lotions and soaps, along with a mid-thigh robe. I smiled, said thank you, put it back in the box, and never saw it again. Many of us do this with gifts - we unwrap them but never take them out of the packaging. They end up shoved under the bed or buried in a closet. And sadly, too many people treat the greatest gift of all time the same way.

The True Meaning of Christmas

Christmas isn't about a lamp; it's about the Light of the World. It's not about a big guy coming down the chimney with gifts. It's about the big guy sending His Son to earth. As Matthew 1:21 tells us, "She shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." God sent us a gift. He sent His Son to die for our sins. But did you know that you could be given a gift and not receive it? If you've heard the Christmas story but never accepted the gift personally, you're like someone holding a parachute on a plummeting plane but never putting it on. The gift of God came in a moment of desperate need historically, and it fulfills a desperate need for us personally. But like any gift, you must receive it.

Four Realities That Prove Jesus is the Messiah

Reality #1: The Confusion of the Moment

The setting of Jesus' birth was one of confusion, darkness, and anticipation. For 400 years since the prophet Malachi, God had not communicated with His chosen people. There were no prophets, no messages, no miracles - just silence and suffering. The people in Jesus' time were looking for redemption in Jerusalem, longing for God's intervention. They hoped God would send the promised deliverer to save them from their enemies and establish them as a sovereign nation again. Into this cultural confusion came a young pregnant woman with the child of God, espoused to Joseph. This created personal confusion for Joseph. When Mary told him she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, it would have sounded like madness, not a miracle. "Sin had caused separation from God, and that separation resulted in confusion," revealing their need for a Messiah. The impossibility of this story without God's explanation highlights our own need for divine intervention.

Reality #2: The Comfort of the Message

At this moment of great confusion, God sent a message of salvation that brought comfort, clarity, and purpose. Matthew 1:20-21 tells us, "But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." The angel's message brought comfort to Joseph personally, but it also brought comfort to the world. The name Jesus (Yeshua) means "the Lord saves." The child was sent on a mission from God to save His people from their sins - not from Rome, not from poverty or sickness, but from sin itself, which is the source of all death, confusion, brokenness, and hopelessness. "Sin is our greatest problem and God has a solution for it." The Bible makes it clear that we can't save ourselves from our sins. Our good works will never outweigh our bad works. That's why God sent a Savior.

Reality #3: The Certainty of the Promise

Jesus' birth wasn't just a random miraculous event. Matthew tells us it had been promised long before: "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is interpreted God with us" (Matthew 1:22-23). The Messiah's coming was a direct fulfillment of a prophecy foretold 700 years earlier in Isaiah 7:14. This certainty comes from the One who promised - God Himself. "God is not like man, that he should lie" (Numbers 23:19). Hebrews tells us it's impossible for Him to lie, and He never forgets what He said. Isaiah prophesied about this child in Isaiah 9:6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Isaiah wasn't just talking about a good teacher; he was talking about God Himself coming as a child.

Reality #4: The Confidence of Obedience

The confusion of the moment was pacified by the message and prophecy, which led to faith and obedience. Matthew 1:24 says, "Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus." Joseph believed Jesus was the Son of God. He set aside every natural thought because he had faith. He was convinced by the Word of God given to him by the angel that Jesus was the Messiah, born of the Holy Spirit. So he obeyed God - he married Mary, protected the miraculous nature of the prophecy, named the boy Jesus as commanded, and raised him as his own. Jesus Himself lived in perfect obedience to the Father. At His baptism, Jesus said, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Every step He took was in obedience to the Father, culminating in His sacrificial death on the cross. John identified Jesus as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). This pointed to Jesus as the sacrificial lamb whose blood would grant forgiveness of sins. As Hebrews tells us, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22).

Life Application: Accepting and Sharing the Gift

The gift of Christmas is unlike any other because it's eternal. Romans 6:23 reminds us, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

How to Accept the Gift

If there was never a time when you repented of your sins and asked God to save you, all you have to do is ask. Romans 10:9 tells us, "If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." You can call on His name tonight and be saved. Jesus said in John 4:10, "If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith unto thee, give me drink, thou would have asked of him and he would have given thee living water springing up into everlasting life."

Sharing the Gift with Others

If you've already accepted the gift of Christmas, what should you do with this message? Share it! Share it with your friends, neighbors, even the cashier at the store. "There has never been a more socially acceptable time than right now to tell somebody about Jesus. It's Christmas!" God saved you and made you an ambassador of His Son. The Bible says that "He spared not His own Son" (Romans 8:32). Can we not spare a little of our own time, talents, and treasures this Christmas season? And don't stop when January comes. The Bible says to "preach in season, out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2) because "there's no other name given among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). This is the most important thing you could do with your life, and it's the only right response to the gift you've been given. Will you accept the gift of Christmas tonight and share it with others?