wfn.org | Editorial: The Time Has Come for a Big Gift

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> Taiwan Church News

> 2964Edition

> December 15-21, 2008

> Editorial: The Time Has Come for a Big Gift

A few weeks before Christmas last year, the documentary film ¡§What Would Jesus Buy?¡¨ made its debut in American theaters. The film created quite a stir among American retailers in gift stores and toy stores across the nation. This documentary¡¦s producer, Morgan Spurlock, said that his intention behind producing the film was to shed light on the trend of over-consumption among Americans during the holidays in the past 50 years. Spurlock focuses on the period beginning at Thanksgiving and ending after the New Year. He argues that shopping sprees have misled children into thinking that the purpose of Christmas is receiving gifts and a parent¡¦s love for a child is measured by the number of gifts the child receives. Most Americans have equated Christmas with shopping and many go on shopping sprees during Christmas only to realize afterward that they have accumulated junk they would never use at home.

It seems only Christian organizations remember that Jesus is the reason for the season nowadays. For most people, Christmas is just another opportunity to buy more stuff. Many people get sidetracked in comparing whose Christmas tree is bigger or prettier. Retail stores compete against each other in luring customers and making big money from giant sales. These activities only take the focus away from the real meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind.

The birth of Jesus was not an accident. It was a gift from God to humanity ¡V exquisitely timed and planned. God sent Jesus for our eternal salvation, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah about 700 years before the birth of Christ: 
¡§Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.¡¨
(Isaiah 7:14). Isaiah also proclaimed, ¡§For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.¡¨ (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus¡¦ birth and how He grew into adulthood are described in the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke.

The fact that Jesus was an exquisitely timed gift from God can be seen from the verses above and from Paul¡¦s letter to the church in Galatia. Paul clearly told the Galatians, ¡§But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 
"Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.¡¨ (Galatians 4:4~7). From this passage, one can see that Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus¡¦ coming as God in the flesh. Through the birth of Jesus, God was reconciling the world to Him and also providing for our salvation through the sacrifice of His Son.

Jesus¡¦ birth in a lowly manger set the tone for the rest of His life on earth as a humble, kind, and sacrificial role model. More importantly, His birth brought new hope to humanity, peace for society, comfort for the poor and oppressed, and reconciliation between people because of the salvation He would later accomplish. Hence, the birth of Jesus is God¡¦s gift to humanity at just the right moment. His birth is an irreplaceable, eternal gift. As you send or receive cards and greet others during this Christmas season, don¡¦t forget the real meaning of Christmas.

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