DECEMBER 23, 2014
What
Really Matters
Read: 2
Corinthians 9:10-15
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! —2 Corinthians 9:15
When our children were
living at home, one of our most meaningful Christmas morning traditions was
very simple. We would gather our family around the Christmas tree where, in
sight of the gifts we were receiving from one another, we would read the
Christmas story together. It was a gentle reminder that the reason we give
gifts is not because the Magi brought gifts to the Christ-child. Rather, our
gifts of love for one another were a reflection of God’s infinitely greater
Gift of love to us.
As we rehearsed the
familiar story of angels, shepherds, and the manger scene, it was our hope that
the magnitude of what God had done that first Christmas would overshadow our
best attempts at displaying our love for each other.
Nothing could ever
match the gift God has given us in His Son, a reality which echoes in Paul’s
words to the church at Corinth, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
(2 Cor. 9:15).
Clearly, God’s
willingness to send His Son to be our rescue is a gift that words cannot fully
comprehend. This is the gift that we celebrate at Christmas—for Christ Himself
is truly what matters most.
’Twas a humble birthplace, but O how much
God gave to us that day;
From the manger bed what a path has led,
What a perfect, holy way! —Neidlinger
Jesus
Himself is the greatest Christmas gift ever given.
Insight
Today’s passage
celebrates all that God has given us. He supplies the sower with seed and bread
for food (v.10), and He blesses us so we can be generous to others (v.11). Our
proper response is thanksgiving to God (v.15) and gratitude that we are able to
share with others because of His gifts to us (v.13).
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012