The Greatest Gift

Dec 12, 2024

Welcome to another post on the Still in the Storm Substack.

Today, I want to talk about the greatest gift of all time.

Some of you may know what I’m referring to. If not, I hope it will be clear before the end of this article.

But first, a quick update. Recently, I started a new job teaching at a classical Christian school, which happens to be where my children go. It is a hybrid school, so it ends up being somewhat part-time, but I’ll gladly take it. As much as I never thought this was where I’d be, I’ve given my life to the Lord. I accept whatever He wills and His plans are definitely not our or my plans but, I gladly accept it nonetheless. That said, my schedule is in flux between that and the Christmas season. So, I may or may not be able to put out my regular posts (articles and podcasts) until I get adjusted to the new routine. I appreciate your understanding.

Now onto the good stuff.

I trust that many of you are preparing to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ in two weeks.

For many Americans, that involves or even centers around buying and exchanging gifts.

Often these days it seems like we cannot stop seeking “things”, especially material things.

We chase them with all our time and energy, trying to fulfill our every desire.

What if we could lay hold of the “real thing”?

We already have the greatest gift

Yes, it’s true. We have the one true thing.

It is a living person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Not only that, but He is the fulfillment of all things.

We don’t need anything else but Him.

Don’t believe me?

Consider for a moment the things most of us seek after.

I’m not talking about material treasures but things like righteousness or wisdom.

Perhaps you desire peace or truth.

Well, Christ is the embodiment of all of those things. He is righteousness and wisdom. He is peace and the truth.

Every human word we have like that is just something God gave us to describe the One who is the reality of all things.

And we have Him, who is the real thing, dwelling in us.

Each year at this time, we celebrate God’s Son becoming incarnate, the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us.

It never ceases to amaze me that He would humble Himself and break into His creation to walk with us.

We know it doesn’t stop there, though.

He showed us the way that the Father desires all of us to live.

He gave His life to pay the price for our sinful nature, becoming sin itself on the cross.

He was brought back to life so He could live and reign not only at the right hand of the Father but within us.

Now He is born anew within all who believe in Him and are born again.

And, we who exchange our lives for His will live and partake in all that He experienced.

If that’s not the greatest gift of all, I don’t know what is.

Stop the search

If you’ve spent a great deal of time searching for these things as I have then I bring good news.

You can stop the search.

Jesus says multiple times throughout the gospels that we should stop searching for, worrying about, and being anxious about much of what bothers us in our daily lives.

If only we’d seek the Kingdom first we can be assured that all these things and so much more will be added to us.

Our very first priority should be to pursue the King and His Kingdom.

We can be comforted knowing that everything we search for or could ever need is found within Christ.

Just as He expected His disciples to understand that when He was here in the flesh, the same holds for us today.

When we take the Lord as our Shepherd we have no lack.

We don’t need to be concerned with worldly status either.

All that Jesus offers is available to even the lowest of us. He is the ultimate unifier and equalizer.

Christ is All and in All.

Is that not a great gift or what?

It’s never too late

You might be asking yourself, “What do I need to do to deserve or earn this gift?”

There is nothing you can do to earn it and you certainly don’t deserve it.

That is what mercy and grace are all about which makes this gift that much greater.

Or maybe you are wondering if it’s too late to receive this gift.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably made some decisions in your life that you aren’t too proud of and may be thinking that you’ve wasted too much time.

Thankfully, we have a loving Father in Heaven that never gives up on us regardless of how checkered our past may be.

It is never too late to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Jesus sees a redemptive future in all of us. He knows the Father has the grace to change even the most stubborn people.

It's never too late. I've seen some incredible examples of this and consider myself one of them.

So, regardless of where you are in your life, if you give your life to Him He can still do amazing things with it if it is His will.

Nothing is too hard for God. Nothing is impossible for Him.

I don’t know about you, but I think that is pretty incredible news.

Not only do we have this amazing gift, but it is offered or made available to us no matter what we’ve done with our lives up until the point where we accept Him.

That takes us back to Christmas, the most wonderful time of year.

It’s not just about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ when the Word became flesh. Rather, it is remembering all that He did and continues to do for us.

Whenever He comes to dwell in a new believer, He is incarnated again.

Therefore, you could say that Christmas is really about accepting the gift we have already been given and sharing the love and hope that comes from Him with the world.

Most people probably think that Valentine’s Day is the day we celebrate love, but Christmas is the greatest outpouring of love the world has ever known.

It is because of God’s perfect love for His Son, as well as that same love for us, that He sent Him to live amongst us and pay the price for our sins.

And it’s out of that same perfect love that He comes to dwell in us and provide all we could ever need throughout our lives.

What a Christ!! What a gift!!

Can I get an Amen??

Let me know what you think in the discussion below.

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