Christmas time is a delight too young and old. As a parent, we love to gather around and watch as our children open their gifts. We anticipate them opening the boxes and watching their eyes light up as they see what is inside. Sometimes we laugh at them because they delight in and have more fun with the boxes than the gift that was inside.
When it comes to the Christmas season, our reaction may be no different than the child who delights more in the box than in the gift. It is fun and delightful to see all the trappings of Christmas with its lights, decorations, and colorful gift packages. But that is not the focus of Christmas. The real essence of Christmas is the gift inside the box. The birth of Jesus Christ, wrapped in the trappings of a simple, yet elegant swaddling cloth, surrounded by the sweet smell of hay and animals, was a gift of redemption, salvation and reconciliation. This gift of redemption, salvation and reconciliation is found only through the person and work of Jesus Christ. He came for a purpose. He was born for a purpose and that purpose was, as the God/man, to pay the penalty for our wickedness on the cross. He was the willing sacrifice necessary to pay the penalty for our sin. God, in His grace, love and mercy, sacrificed His own Son so that mankind could be saved, redeemed and reconciled to Him.
This sacrifice was accepted and affirmed by God when He raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Because of the gift of Jesus, we can have life where once we were dead, we are given light where once we lived in darkness, we can have hope where once we had nothing to hope for.
The wrappings of Christmas cannot save us. Christmas is but the package that delivered the true gift of salvation found in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. May He be our hope, our peace, our joy, and our delight this Christmas season.
