A Gift of Love

Years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah made a powerful announcement. He spoke about a world-changing event that would occur in the future, from his perspective—an event that has already occurred in the past, from our perspective.

He said: “For to us a child is born, a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, NIV).

I want you to notice something in the first part of this verse. Isaiah says that “to us a child is born, a son is given” (emphasis mine). We are focusing right now on the fact that Jesus is the greatest gift—and a gift is not a gift unless it is given.

We need to understand that God chose to give His Son and all the benefits that His Son brings to us. God does not require us to work to earn the gift of His Son; He doesn’t ask us to behave well enough that we deserve a relationship with His Son; He doesn’t ask us to pay for the privilege of knowing His Son. No! God gave His Son to us freely and fully, asking nothing more than for us to believe in Him as our Lord and Savior.

A well-known Bible verse 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” (John 3:16, NIV).

God gave His Son—the greatest gift—to us for no other reason than love. He loved us, so He gave us His most precious gift. I hope you will thank God this Christmas for giving His Son, who not only died to save us from our sins and give us eternal life, but who gives us power, grace, wisdom and victory over every situation we face in life. Now thats a gift!