God's gifts are never disappointing

“Personalized Christmas Ornaments” is what the sign read inside the trinket store. Excited about buying a personalized gift for her sister, my friend Jill browsed until she found just the right one and proceeded to the counter where the “artist” was waiting.

“Can you personalize this ornament for me?” Jill asked with a smile. The lady looked at the ornament and replied, “Well that depends on how much you want written on it. What do you want it to say?”

“I want it to say… Welcome to your first Christmas!” Jill replied. The lady looked at the ornament again and said, “Yes I think I can fit all of that on here for you.”

Excited with anticipation Jill waited for the work to be done on her special gift. But to her surprise, the lady didn’t head to a special engraving machine. She didn’t even grab a paintbrush - instead, she pulled out a Sharpie pen from the drawer and began to write on the ornament “Welcome to your first Christmas!”

A Sharpie! Are you kidding me? I think it’s safe to say that a Christmas ornament with permanent marker on it wasn’t quite the gift Jill had in mind for her sister.

As we all know, the Christmas season brings with it no shortage of cheesy gifts and what some perceive to be gift “disappointments.” Many find themselves disappointed by someone’s gift to them, but there is one gift that we have already been given that will never disappoint. It’s the gift of Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us, “The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).”

Isn’t that really the greatest gift of all, a gift that lasts not only for this Christmas but for all time? And what’s even more amazing about the gift of Jesus is that we don’t have to wait until Christmas to open it. We can experience this life-giving gift right now by surrendering our lives over to the one who came on Christmas just for us.

There is no disappointment in God’s gift to us. No waiting for someone to pull out a colored marker and make it special. It’s the gift that is here now. It is the perfect, most spectacular and life-giving gift you can receive. And it’s hand-delivered to us by God himself.

So I suggest that the first thing you open this Christmas is Jesus Christ. Experience a real, personalized gift this Christmas – the one that came just for you.

Merry Christmas!