I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom. 12:1)
God’s gift to us
God’s greatest gift to man was that of His Only Begotten Son. That truth in itself should warm our hearts and fill us with joy. Do you know why He came? He came to save His people from their sins. Imagine that! We would have never broken free from sins dominion over us, not in a million years, yet Jesus came to save us from sins’ cruel governance. When the Angel Gabriel was sent to Joseph, he told him to call the name of the child Jesus, for He would save His people from their sins (Mat. 1:21).
Jesus came to restore the image of God in us. He came to open the way back to the Father. Because of what He did for us, we now have direct access to God our Father. He came with the purpose to redeem us from Satan’s evil clutches and present us holy and pure before God. We originally belonged to God, until the Fall, but on the Cross Christ Jesus bought us with His own blood and set us all free!
Free from the bondage of sin, free from fear, free from our body of sin.
Christmas Gifts
I have received a lot of presents in my life, but I have yet to receive a present that I know will have a dramatic and life-changing impact both in this world and in the world to come. Our entire worldview changed because of the gift God gave us.
Today most of the world is celebrating Christmas Day, as the day that Christ was born. On this day, we exchange gifts and wish each other well. Our moods are festive and merry and we want to spend this time with those whom we hold dear and love. Usually, we go to a church service and think about Christ Jesus, and God, and the Love that we were showered with, in the form of a helpless babe. Though he looked helpless, His birth struck leaders with terror. Christ’s birth set in motion the heavens and the earth. The Wise men were guided to His manger by a star. In Heaven, the Angels readied themselves to sing “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14) On Earth, a census was taken which moved all people (Luke 2:1-7).
Our Gift to God
As I was wondering what I should write about this Christmas season, a thought occurred to me: “This was God’s gift to man, what should our gift to God be?” And the answer was obvious. I mean, God didn’t hold anything back when He designed our Salvation. He gave us His One and Only Son as an atonement for our sins. He died so we could live. Then why shouldn’t we live for Him?
Now don’t get me wrong, I know that we have already given our lives to Christ (hopefully) and that we are following Him as His disciples and all. What I am talking about is a conscious act of presenting ourselves as living sacrifices upon God’s altar as a gift.
In order to do so, we would have to consciously stand before God and declare with our mouths that we are totally and completely His from now on. We need to get up on our cross for the last time. We need to give up our lives willingly. His desires are our desires, His way is our way, His truth is our truth, His plans are our plans. On this Earth, we live for Him and we die for Him.
This would be the best gift that anyone could ever give to God. Let us ponder upon this during this season of giving. This decision will have an impact on our life here on Earth and in the coming life.
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I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!