One Christmas, Fox News did a story on “8 of the Worst Christmas Gifts Real People Actually Received.” The article began with a boy who opened a gift from his grandmother. He unwrapped a little tin box, the kind that holds gift cards. But there was no gift card in it, only a fake placeholder for a gift card that said, “Place gift card here.” The boy looked through the box, but there was nothing more. Seeing his confusion, his grandmother said proudly, “It’s a gift card holder. You can put all your gift cards in there.” When he erupted in laughter, the moment turned from awkward to cute, but as far as we know the fellow never received an actual gift card to go in his box.¹

What a parable of gift giving! We put lots of resources into the effort, but in the end the Christmas rush leaves us empty. We try. We spend weeks looking for the perfect gift to make someone happy, but we sometimes fall short. But when we open the box called the Nativity, our eyes land on the timeliest gift ever given—a Savior, who came into our world just when we needed Him most. Wrapped in swaddling cloths and resting in a manger, the gift of Jesus is the ultimate gift of Christmas.

A Timely Gift

When we refer to Jesus as a “Christmas gift,” we are not trivializing His appearing. The Bible repeatedly describes Him and His redemptive work as God’s gift to the world. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Hebrews 6:4 speaks of Christ and His salvation as “the heavenly gift.”

Jesus Himself used this terminology with the Samaritan woman in John 4. He told her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (verse 10). Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.” John 3:16 adds, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”

Because it’s a gift, salvation is offered freely and cannot be earned, bought, demanded, deserved, or obtained in any way except with open hands of faith. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”

Years ago, theologian William Jones wrote, “The great blessing of salvation could not have been obtained apart from Christ. He is the great Gift of mercy, the great Channel of mercy, the great Minister of mercy…. Wonderful that mercy should seek our salvation; more wonderful that such means should be employed to secure it. Jesus Christ is the greatest gift of the mercy of God.”²

A Timely Moment

The gift of Jesus came to the world on schedule. The Bible says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). No event has been more urgently needed, nor better timed. In the providence of God, a window of opportunity opened in human history in which world conditions aligned to provide the optimal moment for the Gospel. Each of the world empires, predicted by the prophet Daniel, contributed to the timetable of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem.

The long centuries of Jewish life from the days of Abraham created a line of descent and an inspired collection of prophecies regarding the coming Messiah.

Because of the Babylonian invasion, the Jewish people had been dispersed to the ends of the world, building synagogues everywhere they went. These later became the staging points for the apostles as they took the Gospel to the nations, allowing the message of Christ to gain a foothold in key geographical zones.

Because of the decree of Cyrus in the days of the Persian Empire, remnants of Jews had returned to Israel to reestablish their nation, rebuild the temple, and resume national life. Christ was born at a moment when the Jewish people were inhabiting their God-given land. Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem were prepared for the coming of God’s Gift.

Because of the rapid conquest of the world under Alexander the Great, the world had a unified language—Greek—so the Gospel could spread unhindered by linguistic barriers.

Because of the ascendancy of the Roman Empire, the world was, for the moment, unified and at peace with roads stretching in all directions, unhindered by national borders or regional conflict, an economically and politically stable environment.

These conditions aligned before the birth of Christ, and they evaporated shortly afterward. Jesus arrived on earth with greater precision than the best-timed NASA mission to the moon. He entered the world at a moment when the nation of Israel existed and needed its Messiah, when the world needed a Savior, and when political, economic, religious, and linguistic conditions were advantageous for the rapid spread of the Good News.

A Timely Response

In a similar way, the Lord Jesus comes into our lives at just the right time. The world is in urgent need now of finding the Savior, and we can take advantage of this season to share  His message to everyone around us. Christmas is a prime time to share Christ, so we need to be alert to timely opportunities.

Years ago, Harry Bollback held a week of evangelistic meetings in Claremont, New Hampshire. It was December and everyone was thinking of Christmas. Wandering around town, Harry noticed a large warehouse with a sign saying, “TOY LAND.” He went in, thinking he might find just the right gifts for his grandchildren. The aisles were jammed with displays and shoppers, and at the end of one aisle he saw a big white phone beneath a sign that said: “Call Santa at the North Pole.”

Harry picked up the phone and told the man who answered it, “Santa, I want to invite you to come to a special meeting tonight.” A voice replied, “I’m up in the North Pole and won’t be able to make it.”

“Just jump on your sled and come down. You won’t want to miss it,” said Harry, giving him the pertinent information. But Santa was too busy.

At the first meeting, several people received Jesus Christ, and one of the converts was a woman who asked Harry if he and his colleague, Don Robertson, would visit her mother who was dying of cancer. The next day they did so and had the opportunity to share Christ with her. As they chatted, the woman’s daughter, the one who had received Christ the night before, interrupted them. “Did either of you happen to call Santa yesterday at Toy Land?”

“Yes,” said Harry. “I did. Why?”

“When my husband came home from work last night, he told me that a crazy guy had called him on the North Pole phone and invited him to come to some meetings he was having in town. My husband said he couldn’t attend, but he told me to go and find out what it was all about. I’m so glad that I did; I got saved.”

It was lunchtime, and the door opened and in walked Santa. He was short, chubby, and bald. After chatting awhile, he said that while he couldn’t attend the meetings now, he would go to church when the Christmas rush was past. And he did. On the first Sunday after Christmas, Santa went to church, heard the Gospel, and received the gift of Jesus. Within a few months, he had led six of his family members to the Lord.³

The real miracle of Christmas is repeated every time someone makes the life-changing decision of receiving God’s offer of eternal life. Jesus always operates in a timely way, and the Bible says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). The right gift at the right time demands the right response. If you know Him as Savior, look for a timely moment to share Him with others. If you don’t know Him, now is the time to receive the great gift of God’s mercy—the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Pray to Him today—now—and receive Him as your Savior and Lord.

Citations:

¹Jacquelyn Hart, “8 of the Worst Christmas Gifts Real People Actually Received,” Fox News, December 15, 2017, www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/2017/12/15/8-worst-christmas-gifts-real-people-actually-received.html
² William Jones, The Preacher’s Commentary on the Book of  Psalms (London: Richard D. Dickinson, 1879), 169.
³Harry Bollback, God Is Alive (Schroon Lake, NY: Word of Life Fellowship, 2017), 11-13.