In children’s Christmas movies, Santa streaks through the air in a magical sleigh drawn by reindeer, leaving a spray of twinkling stars in his wake. He lands on a snow-laden housetop and magically plops down the chimney, and beside a glittering Christmas tree, he opens his pack to pull out bicycles, dolls, toy trucks and train sets. The children never ask how everything fits in that little sack or how he carries all that stuff down the chimney. Of course, the answer is simple. It is magic.
Mothers and fathers know how it all fits, and it’s not magic. They sometimes spend months preparing for that special day. Some diligent parents even take time making gifts. Painstaking hour after hour making something special they know their children will cherish, only later to find the gift derelict in a forgotten corner gathering dust. We have all given gifts that have been unappreciated. The ones that hurt the worst are the ones we have put in the most time and love in making.
I wonder sometimes how God feels when we blink at His gifts and go about our day without a second glance and leave them derelict in the corner of our hearts.
The Garden of Eden was the finest and most perfect of all God’s creations. The beauty and order of that place must have been magnificent. Trees of every kind, streams tumbling through lush green meadows dotted with myriads of flowers dancing in the breeze must have been glorious. We can only judge by what we know. Our world is only a cheap imitation of the Garden of Eden, but it is far beyond our ability to understand its grandeur. Think of the ocean with white foamy waves ever rolling to the shore. Think of the towering snowcapped mountains reaching heavenward against the stark blue of the endless sky. Think of the rivers winding ever to the sea. See the meadows strewn with the new flowers of spring or the sparkling whiteness of winter. Look at the sunset painted in glorious orange and pink across the western sky silhouetting the inky blackness of the trees. Oh, what a sight. What a gift. Yet, we complain because we wake up and it is too hot or too cold. We rush about cursing manmade traffic and frown because we don’t have enough time to spend on doing our tasks of never-ending insignificance. We pay little attention to the wonderful gift of nature.
We were part of God’s great creation. In the image of God, we are created. As the world is a cheap imitation of the Garden of Eden, we too are only a cheap replica, but we indeed are His children, imperfect and mortal. We are subject to disease and death. God’s body is glorified and immortal. We cannot understand what He must be like, but we can look at the magnificence of our own bodies and know that He is wonderful. Some bodies are less perfect than others, but we can all see the glory of God in our bodies. Consider eyes that can see, minds that comprehend and ears that can detect the slightest sound, hands that move and legs that can run. A body that gets sick and can heal itself. What machine or computer can do that? What a magnificent gift. Our bodies are blessings beyond measure. God even compared them to the temple. Yet we complain that it is too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too imperfect. We abuse it with substances that are toxic and wonder why we hurt and get sick. We leave it sitting in the corner in front of the TV for hours, and the joints get stiff, and we wonder why it doesn’t work. What a gift to go unappreciated and derelict.
God’s gifts are innumerable. Think of the scriptures and the truths that thread through the pages. The scriptures, if followed, are truly a plan for happiness. They teach us to pray, which is a direct line to speak with our Heavenly Father. Through prayer, we can influence the outcomes of our lives and bless the lives of others. The scriptures teach faith. Faith is a powerful tool in shaping our destinies. Faith has the power to move mountains. We are infants in our ability to use faith, but our lives are shaped by it. Someone once said, “What we believe, we can achieve.” The scriptures teach us we are created in God’s image; therefore, we have His attributes and abilities, perhaps only in the embryonic state, but nonetheless, we are much more powerful than we ever imagined.
The scriptures teach us every problem is solvable if we turn to God in humility. Through the power of God, Moses was able to destroy the entire Egyptian army and was able to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt through the manifestation of miracles. The scriptures also teach us God can and will direct our lives if we seek Him.
The story of Joseph sold into Egypt is a classic example. God knows the beginning and the end of our lives. As a father knows what will happen if a child touches a hot stove, even if a child does not. By obeying God’s eternal laws, men and women do not have to suffer the excruciating consequences of wrong choices. The scriptures are full of people who disobeyed and were miserable. We can learn from their examples. We don’t have to make every mistake to find happiness. The scriptures are unappreciated gifts that often lie dust-covered on the shelf of the last app downloaded on our phones.
God gave us the greatest gift of all. He gave His son. We can all make the cliché statements about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, but the statement that “Jesus gave His life for us” can never be taken lightly. It is the most profound statement in history. No matter how many times we say it, we can never understand the magnitude of what He did for us. Can you imagine a world where death was the end? When a loved one passed on, it was final. You would never see him/her again. What an empty existence and what awful fear of death there would be.
Death is hard enough to bear even when we know we will be with our loved ones once again, but it would be unbearable to know death ended everything. Jesus was born, lived and died to make it possible for us to be resurrected. He overcame the grave that we might follow Him into life eternal. He lived a sinless life to show us the way we should live. He became the very embodiment of charity and gave His last breath to show us how we should treat those who despitefully use us and persecute us. As He hung on the cross, He said, “… Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34, KJV). Yet how many let that gift lie untouched, unappreciated in the darkest corner of their lives?
Death was not the only gift Christ gave. He gave us the chance to change. What would it be like to sin and never be forgiven? There would never be a chance to erase a mistake. It would be an eternity without ever being able to say, “I’m sorry.” Hurts of the heart would never go away. God the Father through Jesus gave us the gift to be able to walk in newness of life. Because of Jesus, we can be born again. What an amazing gift. It is the most glorious gift in the world. Yet we yawn, stretch, close our eyes and hit the snooze button to sleep a little longer.
As the trappings of modern Christmas fill our homes, the stores with tinsel, glitter and fragrance, and while movies of Santa magic and the thoughts of gifts fill our hearts, let us take time to remember the real gifts of Christmas. Those gifts that were made by the one who loves us eternally. Let us remember the Light of the World, even Jesus Christ. He is truly the greatest gift of all. Let us remember to walk His path and do His work in return for all of the splendid gifts He has given us. Let us make sure we make a place for Him on His special day.
