A Thrill of Hope - Week 5: Day 4

The Best Gift Ever
 
 I used to be so excited as Christmas approached, knowing that Santa was going to bring me all I had asked for and even if he didn’t, it would be good. I remember watching all the only Christmas programs such as; Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, The Scrooge, and so many other wonderful classics. I remember going to the mall and playing arcade games while mom went Christmas shopping … and I remember finding the Santa suit in the attic and finally being able to confirm my belief that Santa was really my mother.  I remember all those times and hanging out under the Christmas tree…boy would I love to revisit those days. I was worry free, not because the world had no worries, but because I didn’t understand what the world was all about.

I remember as I got older and acquired more responsibility… bills began coming in and I had to start buying Christmas gifts. Oh, the pressure of finding the perfect gift. I hate that more than anything, even today. I never know what to get anybody, so I get frustrated and always end up waiting until the last minute, which really frustrates my beautiful bride. Boy, you would think that after 20 some years she would be used to it…nope, every year same thing, more pressure, can’t find the perfect gift for anyone so I wait until the last minute and Voila! - same ole, Christmas discussion with the bride. After all these years, I am wondering if I am going to have to be the one to change, because I don’t think she will ever see it my way.

Fortunately for us, the best Christmas gift ever is not one that we need to shop for, it is one that we need to receive, daily. Of course, you’re right… its grace! But today I would like to give it to you just a bit differently. In Matthew 11:28-30, the grace is really defined different than anywhere else in scripture. Jesus says:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
 
What a gift. There for the taking! We grow up thinking in all things, that the details really matter. Sometimes they do obviously, but when it comes to Jesus, they really don’t. The best Christmas gift better is the single truth that no matter what we are ever faced with or going through, if we will just come to Jesus, not only will we learn from it, but we can rest in Him as He teaches us.
In other words, He will take care of the very things weighing us down and help us to become a little wiser and a lot more secure in Him. That promise is absolutely spectacular.

By now, Christmas is here. A day or two and it will be over for another 364 days. During that time many things will change, and Christmas will look a bit differently than it does even now.  So maybe we should lay the stress of the holiday on Him, and maybe all we need to really do is remember what the holiday is really about. The birth of our Savior. At the end of the day, anything we do with our family will likely be perfect, just because we are together. So perhaps laying things down, forgetting the rush, embracing the moment and enjoying God is exactly what we need.

Are there ways that even now, in the midst of a pandemic, national division, the number of uncertainties that go along with that, are there way that you can just rest in Him and let Him carry you through? Right now you have an opportunity to unwrap the best gift ever…unleash the joy of the Lord on your family this Christmas, and make the holiday focus an everyday focus. What kind of adjustments would really be needed in order to accomplish that?
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