God’s Christmas Gift to the World.Δείγμα

Thanks be to Jesus our Savior—God’s Christmas gift to us!

by Rev. Roger Woller

Question: What is something that we have that we didn’t receive?

Answer: If you are reading this devotion, you are still alive in this world. Do you realize that we don’t even deserve that? We were born into this world for a reason. God wants you to be his child. He wants you to be with him in heaven forever.

That isn’t how our coming into this world began. We were born spiritually dead, spiritually blind, enemies of God. We were slaves to sin. We were separated from God for all eternity. That certainly isn’t a blessing. That sounds more like a curse. That is exactly what a curse is, which we all deserve due to our sinfulness.

When sin came into this world, all people born into this world were sinful and were slaves to sin. God had to change this by sending a Savior for all people. Everyone who believed that promise became a child of God, an heir of eternal life.

What blessing from God did you receive for Christmas?

When the time in history was exactly right, God sent Jesus, our Savior, to be born of a virgin, conceived by God the Holy Spirit, so that he would be true God and true man to take our place and pay for our sins.

That is what St. Paul means in the aforementioned verse from Galatians: So you are no longer a slave, but a son (child of God). And if you are a son (child of God), then you are also an heir of God through Christ.

God’s blessing this Christmas is that Heaven is our home. Thanks be to Jesus our Savior—God’s Christmas gift to us!

Prayer: Thank you, dear Father in heaven, that you made me your child through faith in Jesus my Savior, saving me from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Help me as your child and heir to live a life that reflects your love. Amen.