“The value of the gift is magnified when you consider the kind of people that make up the world.”
- Paul Sabino

The season of Christmas is bittersweet for me. I love celebrating the birth of Jesus, reflecting on what His life and love means, and rejoicing in the gift He gave me. That gift of being saved from my corrupted and hell-bound self. That’s the sweet part. The bitter part is knowing and loving people who don’t care. They don’t care about Jesus or don’t believe they need His gracious gift.

Last night, at church, I cried (yeah, I cried, so what?) tears of joy for the life of Jesus, and tears of sorrow for the people who don’t have that gift, who don’t want that gift, and are separated from God.

Paul Sabino gave a great message on John 3, and specifically verse 16, which is so commonly known and diluted. A man named Nicodemus comes to Jesus wanting to know about the true life that He offers. Nicodemus was a Jewish teacher who was a good religious man, but knew he was missing something. He was missing a true relationship. Before the well-known “God so loved the world” line, Jesus mentions a story of Israel when they were plagued with venomous snakes, and Moses had to raise a bronze snake on a stick to heal the people who were bitten and infected. In the same way, Jesus had to be raised up so that people who have been infected may be healed. And this gift is extended to, and necessary for everyone.

Especially me. And for that I cry tears of joy. Every day I need to be saved from myself – my selfishness, my greed, my arrogance, my worship of anything other than the One who deserves it. God gives the Gift that gives us true life, and life to the fullest, and it makes me sad that people don’t want that. Not only don’t want it, but wholly reject it.

So instead, we mask the reality of this week with family and gifts and food. Yeah, family, gifts, and food are good things and are part of it, but are we missing the point? Are we missing it?

Are you missing it? I beg you to consider the weight of the gift, and find the joy that comes with it.