James Duff December 6th 2015 ~ Christmas

It is December and most of us have turned our attention to Christmas. For many we feel we have had it forced upon us. There are break-up drinks at work, street parties and Christmas carols that we are being invited to. Many people complain about all of this but I love it. It probably has something to do with being an extrovert but also something about knowing the reason why we celebrate this time of the year.There are millions of people who are celebrating the greatest gift God has given this Christmas but there are just as many, if not more, who have no idea what the gift is. Because of this lack of knowledge about the greatest gift or rejection of it, most replace it with a man-made gift as the reason to celebrate this season. The man-made gift is a pretend god who judges you on whether you have been good or bad and, even if you have been bad, he caves in and gives you presents anyway. I’m not one of those anti-Santa types but when he is all there is for Christmas, then we have missed the real gift.I love being able to mix with people who don’t know about God’s gift.  I see Christmas as one of the greatest opportunities we have to be a witness of God’s gift. Why should we witness this Christmas? I believe in our witnessing we are simply presenting Jesus as good news for others. We are presenting the One who sustains us, upholds us, who has given us life, who pities and spares us and keeps us. We are gifting to people the One out of whom they came. We have received all of His fullness and can share this good news with others at a time when people often reflect on the meaning of life and the reason for Christmas.The famous 20th century theologian A.W.Tozer wrote: “Everybody we witness to has already benefited from Christ.” Even if people reject what we say or do in the name of Jesus, it is a benefit to them. Throughout all of the universe the Father works through His Son. We are reminded in the Bible that all good gifts come from God and so this Christmas we have the chance to give and show people the ultimate gift of life in Jesus.Can you think of a person who you can share the gift of Jesus with this Christmas? Is it the annoying neighbour? The annoying family member? The boss at work? Who can you invite to the Christmas Carols this year? Who can you send a Christmas card to with “I am praying for you, God bless” written in it? Take the time to pray for this person this Christmas and then ask God to help you to speak and share the gift of Jesus with them. I think Tozer is right - the people you present with the gift of Jesus will only benefit from it.God blessJames