The Gift that hung on the Tree

During this Christmas Season, another Christmas will go by for a father who will look out the window, hoping to see his child walking up the driveway, a phone call, or when the door-bell rings, he will rush to answer, hoping his child has come home but did not. He will greet the guest with clouds of disappointment hovering over his brief smiling face because it wasn’t who he was hoping for. The rest of the family may show up with holiday cheer, but they can see the decorations of his wardrobe, the tinsel in his smile, and the flickering light shining in his eyes, like the flickering light on the age-old star that sits on top of the Tree. The light that once shone so brightly in the beginning, like one of a joyful heart, now flickers from a broken heart.

The present will still be wrapped underneath the Christmas Tree, waiting to be unwrapped by his cherished child, but it too will end up packed away with the others, like the packing and storing away of sins, which becomes like a heavy burden.

God sees our sins, but by grace, He sent His Son to take the punishment for our sins. He hung on a tree unwrapped, beaten so badly no one could tell He was a man. The Son of God came down from heaven through the virgin mother, wrapped in rags, and laid in a bin filled with hay. The scent was manure, unlike our decorated homes’ sweet aroma of cinnamon and vanilla. He came as a babe with one purpose; He offered Himself as the sacrificial Lamb to save the world and pay our debt.

As all gathered around the Christmas Tree for the unwrapping of presents, Jesus hung unwrapped, laid bare, and open before all. The One we rejected, the Christ-Present, the One Gift, waiting for you to open your heart and receive His precious Gift of Redemption for you, the One who was hung on a tree, Jesus Himself, the King of Glory.

But there is Good News, and Jesus still says, “Come to Me, all weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

You may respond by saying the things you have done are unforgivable, but again, He says, A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. But, in faithfulness, he will bring forth Justice… (Isaiah 42:3). Justice was fulfilled when He took your punishment and paid the ultimate sacrifice for you!

May the Father run to you when He sees you coming up Calvary Road!