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 What is the greatest gift you ever received on Christmas Day? No
doubt you have received many gifts through the years, but what was
the best one? Was it the one in the big box? Was it the one with the
pretty paper? Was it the one in the back of the tree hidden from all
the rest? Some will be very fortunate this Christmas because they
received many gifts; so many in fact, that some will have a hard
time trying to decide which of them was the best!
What determines the best? Cost? Usefulness? Desirability? If it has
fulfilled a long term wish or need? Each person who receives a gift
may measure its greatness differently.
Consider the young man who announced to his family that he wanted no
one to bring him any gifts for Christmas because he already had the
greatest gift. He wanted all of his young nieces and nephews to come
to his house on Christmas as well as the rest of his family, to see
the great gift.
When the family arrived they were surprised to find nothing under
the tree; not a single present.
“Where’s the great gift you said you have received, we want to see
it?”
The young man said, “It’s not under the tree, but it’s the greatest
gift in the world!”
Better than Power Rangers? Better than Spider Man or Super Man?
Better than Transformers? Better than an Xbox?” they asked.
 The young man told them that he spent his teenage years with the
wrong crowds. He lived wildly, used drugs and was finally arrested
and served several years in prison.
He said one night he listened to a preacher tell him about Jesus and
His grace. That night he accepted Christ as his savior, and Jesus
gave him a new spirit. “He took away my wildness, calmed my spirit,
and gave me eternal life. A few months later I was granted a parole.
The greatest gift I have is not under the tree, it’s the love of God
in my heart. There’s nothing anyone can give me that can top that!”
The bible tells us that God loved the world so much that he sent His
only begotten Son to offer all salvation.
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In the past He sent Moses, Elijah, Samuel and many other great prophets, all
with a message of reconciliation. When that didn’t resolve the issues of the
world, He sent His Son to the world to bring the gift of eternal life. We are
eternally thankful to God for the gift of His Son.
The wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But, He brought the
world the opportunity for eternal life with Him; that’s the greatest gift of
all; it’s too big to fit under the tree.
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