Can Christmas come more than once a year?

“Please No!” say all the shoppers! But Christmas does come twice a year, because the gift, which God promised us at Christmas, didn’t finally turn up till Easter!

At Christmas God sent us a baby. God’s Son became human, vulnerable and cute ( leastways His mum thought so!) But the real gift was what He would do for us, and that didn’t fully happen till 33years later on Good Friday, when Jesus gave His life for us.

Some people remember Christmas three times a year, because they actually didn’t open God’s gift at Christmas or Easter, but on another day, so they have three days per year to remember God’s gift to them.

No gift is truly ours till we accept it, and unwrap it and start to enjoy it. That’s how it is with God’s gift to us. There are some people who believe Ebenezer Scrooge is right when he says, “Christmas, Bah, Humbug!” And they refuse to accept the gift. They think that what’s inside the wrapper is worthless so they don’t even open it. But every time someone opens God’s gift there are shouts of joy in heaven. It’s not the angels shouting, but God Himself. By receiving God’s gift you bring God joy, and yet you’re the one who gets the gift!

Our church has been checking boxes for the Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box appeal. We’ve had well over 300 shoe boxes full of gifts for children in Romania, and a team of our ladies has had to check each one to make sure that everything inside is safe and good. And as they open each box they have been excited by the many presents that each child is going to find when they open their box.

What do we find when we open the box from God? Forgiveness for all we’ve done wrong, a letter of adoption, saying we are now God’s child, a door key for heaven - because it’s going to be our home, and something powerful that we can’t see, but as it comes into our hearts it says, “I’m your Father for ever and I love you” - it’s God’s Spirit, so we always know God loves us. And of course, we get Jesus as a big brother - it wouldn’t be Christmas without Him! I hope you’ll open God’s gift this Christmas.

Merry Christmas
The Editor

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