SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 332
The Greatest Christmas Gift
By
Roger Behra
Christmas 2010, has come and gone. It passed very quickly. The Christmas season in America always begins on “black Friday”. That is the day after the Thanksgiving Day, which is always celebrated on the last Thursday of November. This special Friday is when millions of Americans flood the stores in the hopes of finding and purchasing the most perfect Christmas gifts. Millions of dollars are spent on that day alone. Then on Christmas Day a great number of gift recipients are disappointed, and the next day they join the long return lines.
Some people are not unhappy if they receive no material gift on Christmas Day. Why? They realize the true meaning of Christmas, and that they recived the greatest Christmas gift 2000 plus years ago: God the Father´s divine Son, Jesus. That leads to another question. Why was the birth of Jesus the greatest Christmas gift ever given to mankind?
In the overall plan of our heavenly Father, He realized that His Son was needed, and that Jesus would play an important part in the course of worldly events. Without the birth of Jesus there are would be no SALVATION eternally for mankind. The birth of Jesus is the manager at Bethlehem was the beginning of the Father´s salvation plan that took place on Good Friday thirty-three-years later.
The birth of Jesus was a greatest Christmas gift. The Crucifixion was our greatest gift ever. There was no salvation until Jesus died on the Cross, which opened the gates to HEAVEN. As long as that is recognized and realized as the essence of Christmas and cherish it, all the material gift giving can be appreciated, but in reality it is hollow in comparison.
Our Heavenly Father´s plan was perfect. So was the implementation. Jesus´s birth (Christmas) = Jesus´s Crucifixion (Easter) = man´s eternal salvation. A very great earthly gift is our free will, also, and if we use it for very good objectives, we are giving ourselves more of God´s gifts: His blessings. Using free will to realizer and accept the birth of Jesus as our greatest Christmas gift is a great step in the right direction. It would put the birth of Jesus at the top of the list of all the gifts received on Christmas Day. That day would be so much more meaningful, indeed.
R. B.
1-5-11