The Greatest Gift of Jesus: A Christmas Writing
As time has gone on, I’ve come to truly believe that the only thing that could keep someone from giving their life to Jesus is misunderstanding. To reject all that’s offered through faith in Christ, I would have to believe a person really doesn’t understand the miraculous and generous gift being offered to them.
Maybe it’s “due to the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts”. Perhaps it’s due to a willful misunderstanding. (Ephesians 4:18, Romans 1:28) Or sometimes…
Maybe their experience with Christianity has been a rigid one—full of harsh rules, strict punishment, guilting, or the feeling of never measuring up. Maybe their experience has been one where they felt out-of-place, unseen, or unloved. Maybe it is nothing so dramatic but merely the idea that they’re “doing just fine” or that humankind may just save the day all on its own. Whatever it may be, I just wish every person could know the real version of God’s offer to us in Jesus.
I’ve struggled on my own with Christianity. I wouldn’t have said I was struggling at the time, but looking back, so much of how I practiced my faith actually had to do with hoping that if I followed God’s rules well enough, I might earn his favor. And I really wanted his favor. I liked the idea of someone being pleased with me and I found the guidelines in His book to seem wise enough. The circles I walked with found the behavior of the Bible to be nice and likable… I believed Jesus died because that was what I had been told, but there was a still a pressure to perform and an unsatisfied hunger that carried me through the motions of my faith.
The more I began to learn about what I’ll call “the true gospel”, the more it blew my mind. I would quietly read my bible in the early morning and wonder at the words before my eyes. “Is it really this good?” “Could this actually be what it’s about?” “How have I missed THIS?”
The good news is this: Jesus didn’t come into the world to crack down on us. It wasn’t to create a set of religious standards that he could then coerce people to abide by based on their own abilities. John 3:17 tells us that God sent Jesus into the world to save the world. And the verse before that tells us it was an act prompted by the great, great love God had for the people in the world.
God sent Jesus to save us.
The truth is, if we have the eyes to see it, this world is a messed up and broken place. If we look at ourselves honestly, we know we are broken too. We need saving. It may be as subtle as a bad attitude or as obvious as a murder charge. It might be a nagging feeling of heartbreak, social anxiety, or ever-looming anger. You might say all of that is just part of being human—and you’d be right. Humanity has a problem with brokenness.
But there may be another part of you hoping somewhere deep that that’s not the way humanity was meant to be. God would agree with that.
He created the world in perfection but humanity chose to do evil. Every person has chosen to do evil. God loves humanity but he’s also really committed to fairness, or justice. He knows that evil acts/thoughts/beliefs deserve punishment, and yet he desperately doesn’t want punishment for the people he loves so much. He knows that he is so good, that evil has no place near him. Yet he longs to be near the people he created. (Get ready for the good news.)
So what did He do? In perfect justice and love, God sent Jesus to receive the punishment that we deserve. But not just that, he also raised Jesus back to life to be advocating for us in heaven—that means he has our backs, defends us and understands why we do what we do. Jesus endured every bit of temptation when he walked the earth, which makes him the perfect person to love and defend you.
Jesus defends those who trust him. So if you’ve had the understanding that Christianity means you’re going to be accused of doing wrong all the time, that’s not the spirit of this message. It’s not accusation and punishment, but an offer of defense and acquittal.
To be saved, we must admit our need for saving, remembering this: God wants to redeem and restore his people. He loves us. And we have Jesus to defend us. He sees our struggles and hardships and wants to carry them, to walk alongside us in all that we face.
Any understanding that Christianity is for the person who wants to be self-righteous and judgmental of others has been lied to. It’s totally the opposite. True christianity is for the person who sees brokenness in themselves and the world, and wants to be honest about it. They want God’s way but they know they need help. When we trust in Jesus—that he died for our broken state and was raised to life to advocate for us—we receive eternal life with God… and so much on this earth as well.
The Bible teaches us that when we put our faith in Jesus, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Basically, that’s God’s vehicle for producing change in our hearts and minds. We trade in our old attitudes and desires for His good ways. We don’t receive a new rulebook; we receive new desires that cause us to want God’s ways—which bring life and goodness to us. We no longer even view God’s ways as binding, but we see that any guideline God offers us is for our good.
He wants to help us and restore us, producing good in our life. And there is so much grace, forgiveness, and love for us along the way when we miss the mark. Trusting Jesus means we receive a whole heap of love and favor from God which touches down in every area of our life.
The Bible says that those who trust in Christ are adopted as God’s children, and it’s permanent. We get to call him “Papa”. We can trust that we are fully seen, loved, known, guided, and protected. We pray and ask for help and the Holy Spirit works so deeply in our hearts and minds that God helps us from the inside out.
In addition to the title of “God’s child”, the help of the Holy Spirit, eternal salvation, a new heart with godly desires, and the multi-faceted favor of God, we receive even more: a family. God has a whole big group of people ready to encourage you, love you, help you, and support you as you learn how to live this new life.
In generosity, he also gives us the Bible (which by-the-way, isn’t just some ancient book)… sometimes I wonder if people discount the Bible because it’s a physical item. After all, it’s literally paper made from trees with ink printed on it. Just like any other book is paper with ink printed on it. But I would like to offer a different perspective: God loves humans SO much that he wanted this great news to be so accessible, so “on their level”, so attainable, that he wrote the mystery of Jesus out on paper. It’s supremely valuable, and yet, incredible available.
God loves the people of the world and, though he is all things majestic and holy, has made himself accessible to them. This is the true message of love, hope, and goodness found in the Bible. It’s a gift to be received by whoever may choose to receive it.
That’s what Christmas is. A huge celebration of all that God offers to people through faith in Jesus.
Jesus came and died for our sin so that we could have access to God. Jesus wipes our slate clean and our faith in him brings about our adoption into God’s family.
If living in this good news is your reality, I hope you take some special moments this Christmas to celebrate the ultimate gifts God gives you in Christ.
If you haven’t entrusted your life to Jesus and received all the glorious grace offered through him, this year can be the year you get to experience the true celebration of Christmas. It’s so much better than candy canes and reindeer—it’s everything your heart has ever craved, and more.
(Message me if you’re looking for support in how to take the first steps in life with Jesus. I’m here for you!)
Alllll the love this Christmas,
Annalisa
