For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
One year for Christmas, a roommate and I decided to bless two tenants in our home who could not see their families over the holidays. It started as a spontaneous set of stockings filled with chocolate and grew to include other small tokens that spoke to their unique personalities. We grew in excitement as Christmas Day approached when we would be able to reveal our little surprise. Before we left town for our family celebrations, we placed the treasure-laden stockings in the kitchen to be discovered by our nomadic roommates.
When we returned home post-holiday, can you guess what we found on the kitchen table? Two more stockings! We were disappointed to learn that our spontaneous gift had not sparked excitement on Christmas morning but, instead, guilt! Our roommates, upon seeing our thoughtfulness and generosity, had rushed out to “guilt-gift” in reciprocation because they felt so terrible about not having gifts for us. We did not want to introduce the pressure of a gift exchange, but our spontaneity certainly backfired!
It has become a cultural custom to, at this time of year, participate in gift exchange. Because of that, it can be a challenge to experience the unique blessing of a gift received. But it is this season when we remember the free gift of God—eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord—and we get to practice the art of receiving.
Lord God, you are my strength and my song! Thank you for the gift of everlasting life, a gift that cost you dearly to offer and costs us nothing to receive. What grace! What mercy!
Sarah George
* 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!