For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16
One of our family’s favourite Christmas traditions began after I read the children’s book, The Sparkle Box. The idea of the book is to get the most sparkly gift box you can find, fill it with slips of paper that are personal gifts for Jesus, wrap it in a bow and place it under your tree. When we started this tradition, our boys were quite young, so it was a wonderful way to teach them that Christmas was about celebrating Jesus’ birthday. Before they started making their own Christmas lists, we wanted to take time to think about the special gifts we each could give our Lord and Saviour.
John 3:16 tells us of the greatest gift God bestowed on humanity. God’s love for us was so great that he gave his one and only Son, Jesus, to be the sacrifice for our sins. Since God is holy, our sins were separating us from him and those sins needed to be atoned for.
In the Old Testament, sacrifices included animals that were without blemish or stain. Jesus was without any sin which made him the perfect substitute for us and the ultimate atoning sacrifice. Jesus willingly took our sins upon himself and washed them away by his blood. In doing so, he appeased God’s judgment and reconciled our once broken relationship. Our belief in Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection gives us an eternal and glorious hope. The acceptance of this free gift gives us assurance that we are forgiven and that one day we will be in heaven enjoying everlasting life with our Saviour.
Are you wondering about the gifts in our sparkle box? They have changed quite a bit over the years. When our boys were little the gifts included sweet hand-drawn pictures and Jesus’ name in early printing. Later, the gifts included items purchased for families in need, decisions to put away devices, and promises to devote more time to praying and reading God’s word. Every year we try to give Jesus gifts that we think he would love. After all, he is the best gift we have and will ever receive.
Lord, we will be forever grateful for the most precious gift we’ve ever received, the gift that you so graciously gave to us, the gift of yourself. We love you, desire to be like you, and long to see you.
Marie Mathew
* Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, ©The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995. Used by permission.
** The above was taken from Glory to God in the Highest: A Christmas Devotional (Oakville: Proclamation, 2024).
By job title, Alice is the office administrator at Oakridge. But her behind-the-scenes efforts go far beyond that! She is actively involved in the leadership team for the Tuesday evening women's bible study, she is on the mission committee, and she has recently both stepped into the leadership of church bridal and baby shower celebrations, and started teaching in our Ozone kids program. Oh, and if you see any special seasonal or holiday decorations around the church, it's a safe bet that Alice was involved!