This question will be repeated hundreds (thousands) of times this month and next. It’s a good one since it can be interpreted on various levels. There’s of course the level of the physical gift, which is the most frequently mentioned one—the one that comes to mind right away upon hearing those words. But there are other levels as well. “I’d sure like to have my son home from Afghanistan,” might be the level on which some are thinking. Then, I’m sure you could come up with a dozen or more, if you give it some thought.
The level that comes to my mind at the moment, however, is something like this—I’d like to have a deeper appreciation of Jesus Christ than I have so far. The commemoration of His birth brings this thought more frequently to mind than perhaps at any other time—except Easter.
How about thinking about this during this season along with me (not to neglect the rest of the year, of course)? The gift is on the spiritual level. That means it is lasting—if I come to love and appreciate Jesus more than ever before, I can carry that with me into and after death, whereas all other temporal gifts will be lost.
Is there any believer out there who doesn’t want this gift above others this Christmas, when he thinks seriously about it?
There is no greater gift than the one God gave us on that first Christmas day—His Son! This Gift was not laid under the tree, but hung on it. Thank God did not remain on that cross. It is no crucifix! It is an empty cross. He is a living Christ who three days after His death, rose from the dead.
If, of course, you aren’t a believer, what you should want most of all is salvation through Him. That comes by believing that He died and was raised for you. That He took your punishment for you so that you might not have to suffer in hell for eternity.
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