"Merry Christmas."
Sometimes it just doesn’t seem that merry. You can’t be with the person you want to be with; maybe you’ve even lost that person. You can’t afford that one thing your loved one really needed. You have more problems caused by the holiday than good things. You’re tired, annoyed, sick, hurting. What is the point of a Merry Christmas? You don’t feel like it’s a gift.
But that’s where God comes in. He has more gifts than you can even handle. He offers you joy— not the kind of joy that you experience when you open a present that you’ve been waiting for, the kind that will fade in a week, day, or even hour— everlasting joy. He offers you peace— not the peace that you get when you escape your extended family for half a minute during Christmas dinner— everlasting peace. He offers you love— not the kind you thought you got from that one ex that you can’t get over— everlasting love.
He offers you grace. Salvation from all the evil and selfish things you did. Grace that enables you to spend eternity with Him. He offers you a home in Heaven. He offers you more, so much more.
All you have to do is accept these gifts. He isn’t going to take them back or expect a gift in return. He won’t resent that you have nothing to give him. He wants you to take them.
Once we have these gifts, we have them forever. But just like any other gift, if you forget about them, they won’t do you much good. If you don’t remember that He loves you, you’ll probably feel unloved every once in a while. If you don’t remember the benefits of salvation, you won’t live like you are free from sin.
So when you think about the Christmas gifts you have or haven’t received, think of the gifts God has offered you. Have you accepted them? Are you living in awareness of everything you’ve received from him?
If you really understand what you’ve been gifted, I guarantee you won’t just have a “Merry Christmas;” you’ll have a thankful life.