A Gift for You
When I was a teenager and opened a present from my grandmother one Christmas, I was quite surprised to find a CD. This particular CD had quite a strong image on the cover and wasn’t something I would have thought was on Grandma’s radar. I remember it so vividly because not only was it a bold gift, but for the life of me, I could not imagine her walking up to the register and placing the CD on the counter for purchase. I later asked her how she chose it and she had asked someone who worked at the music store what young people were listening to these days. I wondered if she had been as baffled to see the album cover as I was when I opened it. I, of course, thanked her and gave her a hug.
What we have been preparing for in this Advent season is the gift given to us in Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ into the world is a gift of grace, forgiveness, peace, and freedom. Christmas is an antidote to all the difficulties you and I carry day in and day out. Talk about a bold gift! God has seen our need of a savior and has wrapped Himself up in Jesus as the gift that fulfills all our needs. This is a pure gift without strings attached.
See this grace for what it is – a gift of the fullest love that exceeds our expectation. We catch glimmers of it like when Grandma walked out of her comfort zone and into a music store. We see this love in the presents you all bought as a part of our Giving Tree outreach program and the food we take to hungry children all across this city. The angels in heaven are said to continuously sing of the holiness this love. I pray you will come and sing with us on Christmas Eve. To quote one of my favorite Christmas hymns:
Love came down at Christmas, love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas; star and angels gave the sign.
We love you and God loves you,
Josh Condon+