19 Dec “We don’t celebrate the religious part, just the gifts part.…”

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Luke 2:16 (NLT)

Surprised?

No, not surprised.

Confused?

Yeah, maybe.

Time to pray?

Absolutely!

That pretty much sums up my thought progression after I overheard my son asking his friend about his Muslim faith as his friend described his family’s Christmas tree.

My son: “Oh, so does your family celebrate Christmas?”

His friend: “We don’t celebrate the religious part, just the gifts part….”

And immediately after hearing this exchange, God placed a simple, but profound thought into my head that I almost exclaimed aloud.  “Oh, dear child,” I prayed as I thought, “you’re missing the greatest Gift of all!”

The “religious part” IS the Gift part – Jesus, who came to our world in a lowly manger (Luke 2:16), is the ULTIMATE Gift from our faithful Father (John 3:16).

It’s not just this dear Muslim boy who looks past the Gift.  It can also be US when we seek true Christmas joy in presents, parties, food, and even family but ignore the complete gift that Jesus is to us: our Immanuel (Matthew 1:23), our source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9), and our Savior (Luke 2:11).

This Christmas season, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, find true joy, true hope, and true life in the best Gift ever: Jesus!

On behalf of our board, Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Travis L. Zimmerman

Pastor and Co-Founder