The Gift of Christmas
The original Christmas didn’t appear on anyone’s calendar except God’s. It had been on his since before the universe was founded. In the Gospel of John, chapter one, The Word, God the Son, who had always been with the Father, would come into the world to set right what had gone wrong and provide people with a way back to the Father.
Not everyone responded in the same way. Verse 3 says all things were made through the Word, the Son of God. But verse 10 says, He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. They didn’t know him, didn’t recognize him, because they ignored him. They had put God out of their minds. They had other things to focus on. So when he came, he was just one more face in the crowd.
Verse 11 paints a different picture; it gives us the other side of the coin. The world in general ignored him, but then, He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. He came home to Israel, to his ethnicity, the Jewish people, and they outright rejected Him.
At two different levels he came, and at two different levels he was shunned. If that were the story that John was telling, it would be sad. But John isn’t seeking to evoke pity from us, he wants us to see the contrast. Jesus did not come to get, but to give. His focus was not on being welcomed and affirmed. No, it’s the other way around: when others receive Him, He gives to them.
Think of it as a huge event with a sit-down dinner where everyone's invited. The invitations went out, but you had to RSVP for your name to be on the list.
The Word came to us. He was in the world… yet the world knew him not. The invitation came, but they left it sitting on the mail pile and ignored it. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive him. They got the invitation and threw it in the trash. But some opened it and RSVP’d. Verse 12 begins, But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name. These are those who didn’t ignore him, those who didn’t reject him, but instead took the time to hear what he was saying, to see what he was doing and understand who he was. To believe in means more than to believe someone, more than to trust that the facts are accurate and true, that we’re not being deceived. When someone is working really hard to explain themselves, we tell them, “Relax! I believe you.” We’re talking about that situation, that scenario. I believe you here and now. But to believe in Jesus means far more. It means I trust him, the person, not just what he says or does in a given moment. Why would we trust Him? Because he loves us. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would even dare to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
It’s a rare love that can be deeply hurt and still make significant sacrifices for the good of the one that hurt them. But that’s exactly what Jesus did. Knowing what was waiting for him, he came anyway. He still loves us. He still wants us to be reconciled to him.
So for those who didn’t ignore him, for those who didn’t reject him, but who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Not everyone gets the privilege of becoming God’s child. Many want to claim it, but they chose not to respond to the invitation. He came to them, but they didn’t recognize him – they didn’t acknowledge that he was “the Word” who “was God.” They didn’t want to yield to him, to acknowledge him as Lord. But to those that did, he gave the right to become children of God.
This is not something that can be faked with God. We can pose to other people, talk like we’re God’s children, but we won’t pass the spiritual DNA test. Children of God are not declared, they’re born. Verse 13 gives the rest of the description of the children of God: who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. The first three words and the last three let us know that there can be no counterfeits. Bloodlines have nothing to do with it, human passion has no part, nor does human determination. The privilege to become God’s child is a privilege that is given by “The Word”, by the Son of God, to those who receive him and believe in him.
Jesus had a conversation with a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus. It’s recorded in the third chapter of the gospel of John. He had a hard time understanding what Jesus meant when he said that Nicodemus had to be “born again.” He even asked if Jesus meant he had to go back into his mother’s womb! But Jesus was talking about this – about the privilege of being born of God. It’s in that conversation, in verse 16, that Jesus told Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Believing in Jesus grants you the privilege of becoming a child of God, of being born again, of having eternal life. That’s why he came. That’s why “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” It wasn’t so that we could give him affirmation and accolades, but so that he could give us the privilege, the right to become children of God. That’s his Christmas gift to you.
I encourage you to read John 3:1-21. Believe in Jesus and receive his gift this Christmas. Email me by clicking here if you have become a child of God or have questions. And have a very merry Christmas!
Not everyone responded in the same way. Verse 3 says all things were made through the Word, the Son of God. But verse 10 says, He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. They didn’t know him, didn’t recognize him, because they ignored him. They had put God out of their minds. They had other things to focus on. So when he came, he was just one more face in the crowd.
Verse 11 paints a different picture; it gives us the other side of the coin. The world in general ignored him, but then, He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. He came home to Israel, to his ethnicity, the Jewish people, and they outright rejected Him.
At two different levels he came, and at two different levels he was shunned. If that were the story that John was telling, it would be sad. But John isn’t seeking to evoke pity from us, he wants us to see the contrast. Jesus did not come to get, but to give. His focus was not on being welcomed and affirmed. No, it’s the other way around: when others receive Him, He gives to them.
Think of it as a huge event with a sit-down dinner where everyone's invited. The invitations went out, but you had to RSVP for your name to be on the list.
The Word came to us. He was in the world… yet the world knew him not. The invitation came, but they left it sitting on the mail pile and ignored it. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive him. They got the invitation and threw it in the trash. But some opened it and RSVP’d. Verse 12 begins, But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name. These are those who didn’t ignore him, those who didn’t reject him, but instead took the time to hear what he was saying, to see what he was doing and understand who he was. To believe in means more than to believe someone, more than to trust that the facts are accurate and true, that we’re not being deceived. When someone is working really hard to explain themselves, we tell them, “Relax! I believe you.” We’re talking about that situation, that scenario. I believe you here and now. But to believe in Jesus means far more. It means I trust him, the person, not just what he says or does in a given moment. Why would we trust Him? Because he loves us. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would even dare to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
It’s a rare love that can be deeply hurt and still make significant sacrifices for the good of the one that hurt them. But that’s exactly what Jesus did. Knowing what was waiting for him, he came anyway. He still loves us. He still wants us to be reconciled to him.
So for those who didn’t ignore him, for those who didn’t reject him, but who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Not everyone gets the privilege of becoming God’s child. Many want to claim it, but they chose not to respond to the invitation. He came to them, but they didn’t recognize him – they didn’t acknowledge that he was “the Word” who “was God.” They didn’t want to yield to him, to acknowledge him as Lord. But to those that did, he gave the right to become children of God.
This is not something that can be faked with God. We can pose to other people, talk like we’re God’s children, but we won’t pass the spiritual DNA test. Children of God are not declared, they’re born. Verse 13 gives the rest of the description of the children of God: who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. The first three words and the last three let us know that there can be no counterfeits. Bloodlines have nothing to do with it, human passion has no part, nor does human determination. The privilege to become God’s child is a privilege that is given by “The Word”, by the Son of God, to those who receive him and believe in him.
Jesus had a conversation with a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus. It’s recorded in the third chapter of the gospel of John. He had a hard time understanding what Jesus meant when he said that Nicodemus had to be “born again.” He even asked if Jesus meant he had to go back into his mother’s womb! But Jesus was talking about this – about the privilege of being born of God. It’s in that conversation, in verse 16, that Jesus told Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
Believing in Jesus grants you the privilege of becoming a child of God, of being born again, of having eternal life. That’s why he came. That’s why “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” It wasn’t so that we could give him affirmation and accolades, but so that he could give us the privilege, the right to become children of God. That’s his Christmas gift to you.
I encourage you to read John 3:1-21. Believe in Jesus and receive his gift this Christmas. Email me by clicking here if you have become a child of God or have questions. And have a very merry Christmas!
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