The Greatest Gift Ever

When I was a child, my parents weren’t able to afford much for Christmas, so I didn’t expect much. And the beauty of low expectations is that you’re content with almost anything.

“A walnut, why thank you. You shouldn’t have.” 

“Socks. Wow. I thought I was getting my brother’s old socks this year. But these are mine. They fit. Woohoo!”

I only remember a few gifts from my childhood that really took me by surprise. A bow with suction cup arrows. A Vancouver Canucks hockey jersey. The only gift I wished I hadn’t unwrapped was a pinkish sweater from my grandpa. I only wore it to school once.

Bad Christmas gifts. Have you had some?

Lori says, “My mother wanted to give me the “extra plot” in the family grave one year. She said they were expensive, and I should be glad.”

“Thanks, Mom?”

Sam says, “My dad once got me a shirt that was his size and said he would take it if I didn’t want it.” Dad, you’re fired!

Ainen says, “I mentioned to my uncle one year that I wished I could grow a beard like his. Come Christmas time my uncle hands me the present he got me. I unwrap it and what do you know…it’s his beard in a Ziplock bag.”

Tom says, “I left some video games in my Mom’s room. She found them and assumed my Dad had bought them as Christmas gifts for me. So, for Christmas, I got my own games.”

Ben says, “I got an encyclopedia, just one book, and it was part 2 of 3 for the letter E.”

Fred received a pink throw blanket with the word “princess” stitched on it. “A little strange” for a 40-year-old male, he says.

Whatever you find under the tree this Christmas, I hope you remember this. On the first Christmas, the greatest gift ever was unwrapped. God in human flesh, come to save us. And while so many allow the real meaning of Christmas to be stolen amid the consumerism and the bright lights, true Christmas has never been about stuff, but about a Saviour.

One Christmas morning, a girl named Jill opened up an empty box. Her mom had accidentally wrapped it up and given it to her as a gift. There was nothing empty about that first Christmas gift. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If you haven’t done so yet, accept the gift of God’s grace and unwrap the greatest gift… ever.

Phil Callaway

Phil Callaway, the host of Laugh Again, is an award-winning author and speaker, known worldwide for his humorous yet perceptive look at life.

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