Corona Devo 1387

Wrapping up some gifts the other day, a flush of warmth rushed through my veins as I thought, "She'll love this", and "He'll be so surprised to open this".  

Buying gifts can be cumbersome, expensive and a chore...or finding something that suits someone, blesses somebody, or that we know they will love...can warm our heart, and that's called love. 

We love because he first loved us.  ~I John 4:19

We talk a lot about gifts at Christmas, and we fuss and fret about giving and getting the right ones, but the gift that we have (hopefully) accepted from God is of the greatest value (ever), and its meaning is eternal: it is the gift of Jesus, God's Son.

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

This gift didn't come wrapped in royal robes (as everyone expected) or in a box tied up with a silver bow.  The Son of God was born humbly in a barn and laid to rest in a wooden box that had been the feeding trough of animals not long before.  (And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.  ~Luke 2:7) 

This gift came wrapped in love from our Father above, and unwrapping the gift of Jesus means unwrapping His good gift of plans for our lives.  Jesus awaits the (daily) opportunities for us to unwrap Him, to invite Him...to include Him in our thoughts, our agenda and our lives.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (12) Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (13) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  ~Jeremiah 29:11-13

This Christmas season, open or re-open the gift that Jesus is to us.  

He's not a bunch of rules and laws.  He doesn't wish to staple us down with do's and don'ts, or to (spiritually) spank the smiles off our faces.

God the Father and Christ His Son desire nothing else but a relationship with us.  That we might unwrap the gift of who they are and accept that gift into our lives and hearts. 

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, (4) who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  ~I Timothy 2:3-4

Looking down at us, a flush of warmth rushes through God's veins because He has offered His Son to us and as He thinks, "She'll love this", and "He'll be so surprised to open this".  

The love of God is a wild gift.  One that we don't deserve and couldn't possibly earn, and that's what makes it so amazing to receive.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— (9) not by works, so that no one can boast.  ~Ephesians 2:8-9

This time of year, we know all about gifts: buying, wrapping, giving, unwrapping.  It can get to be cumbersome, expensive and a chore.  

But our Heavenly Father never feels that way.  He gave the (priceless) gift of His Son 2023 years ago in a humble manger to a world that was not ready for Him and to a people who (still) are reluctant to receive Him.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. (11) He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ~John 1:10-11

Open the gift of Jesus today.  Receive Him and the gift that He is to us, given to us by God.  

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— (13) children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  ~John 1:12-13

Open the gift of Jesus today, sent to us by God as a gift of love.

We love because he first loved us.  ~I John 4:19

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com 

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