Christmas as we
celebrate today is gift-giving and gift-receiving. Why do we give
gifts during Christmas season?
About
seven hundred years before Jesus Christ was born, the Prophet Isaiah
prophesied, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and
the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing
and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and
forever” (Isa. 9:6-7 NIV). Obviously and without any shadow of
doubt, the Prince of all prophets is referring to the Lord Jesus
Christ.
By
Christian tradition, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was
born on CHRIST-mas
day, December 25.
Since
then, we celebrate yearly the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ on
December 25, the day God the Father “gave us His only begotten Son
that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but shall have ETERNAL
LIFE” (John 3:16).
On
this day, mankind received from God the best of the best gift of all
time, which is ETERNAL LIFE through faith
in His ONLY
begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This
best and most precious gift of all is available to all who believes,
repents of their sins and who accepts the gift by faith. This kind
of faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 which says, “NOW faith is being
sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (NIV).
In the King James version which is the nearest translation to the
Greek original in which the New Testament was originally written,
this is how it reads: “NOW faith is the substance of things hope
for, the evidence of things not seen” (KJV). The significant
words are NOW,
present tense, not later in the future. SUBSTANCE
and EVIDENCE
of things not visible to the human eye, or are still being hoped for
(future) but the believer is already sure and very certain of what he
does not yet see with his naked eyes. Men usually have this
expression, “to see is to believe”. Man says that he has to see,
touch feel or read it so he will believe. God says, “believe and
you will see” (with your spiritual eyes). In the courts of law,
evidence must be something we can see, touch, feel, smell and read,
so it shall be competent as evidence. In the spiritual realm, it is
the reverse. We do not see ETERNAL LIFE as a gift from God, it is
only a promise; we are yet hoping
but we are already sure and
certain that it is true or it
shall happen or it already exists.
To
the normal ordinary person, Christmas is a season of giving and
receiving gifts that are material or physical or something we can see
with our naked eyes, or touch with our hands, or we can smell, but
these gifts are but temporary and they will soon pass away.
But
the gift of God to the believers which is ETERNAL LIFE is spiritual,
through faith in His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This
gift is available to everybody who will accept and receive His only
begotten Son by faith as his only LORD and SAVIOR. Blessed is the
one who repents and receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his only LORD
and Savior for he will resurrect and have ETERNAL LIFE just like the
LORD JESUS CHRIST.
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