Why Christmas Is the Gift That Never Wears Out

Introduction

The most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, sums up the Christmas message from start to finish. Short, yet immense: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This message breaks it down piece by piece, God's love, the gift of his Son, the faith that receives, the eternal life that never wears out, and invites everyone, child and adult alike, to open the gift that God has already given.

Message Outline

1. Christmas begins with God

• "God so loved the world": everything begins with love. If we love giving gifts at Christmas, it's because we love the person we're giving to. For God, it's the same: Christmas is first and foremost the gesture of his love.
• But God's love is very different from ours. The Bible doesn't say that God loved only perfect people, those who deserved it, or those who went to church. It says he loved the world.
• God loved the world because he is the one who created it. He loves what he created, and he especially loves people, whom he created in his image, with wisdom, conscious love, intelligence, a sense of right and wrong.
• This love precedes everything else. Like a parent watching their child sleep: the child hasn't done anything special, and yet is loved. God loved us before we had done anything good or bad.

2. The gift: God sends his one and only Son

• Love according to this verse isn't just words or emotions. Love is generous, it wants to give gifts. God loved the world, so he sent it a gift.
• At Christmas, God did not send an instruction manual, a list of rules, a punishment, or a speech. He sent a person: a fragile baby, who cries, who needs to be cared for.
• Imagine your favorite toy, the one you wouldn't lend to anyone. Would you be able to give it away? God did far more: he gave what was most precious to him, his Son.
• And he had no reason to do it. Left to ourselves, we don't want God; we want to be masters of our own lives. That is sin, and it separates us from God, bringing death, sickness, and violence into the world.
• So God sent his Son, fully man and fully God, to live a perfect life and be punished in our place, so that we would not be separated from God forever.
• God did not send gold or toys, he sent a person. Because what we need most is not something, but someone: someone who takes our place, who understands us, who loves us, who comes with us through difficult times.

3. Receiving the gift: believing means sitting in the chair

• A gift that stays under the tree or on a shelf and is never opened is useless. A gift is meant to be opened. How do we open the gift that is Jesus? By believing in him.
• "Whoever believes in him": anyone at all. Not whoever understands everything, not whoever is perfect, not whoever has the answer to every question, but whoever believes in him.
• In the Bible, believing doesn't just mean thinking that God or Jesus exists. Believing isn't a way of thinking, it's something you do: to believe is to trust, to receive, to open your hands.
• The chair illustration: I can look at this chair, examine its legs, its seat, its back, be reasonably sure it will hold me. But the only way to truly know is to sit in it. Trusting Jesus is like that.
• It's not about being strong, having it all figured out, having all the answers. It's saying to God: "I need you and I want to trust you." And anyone can do that, a child often more easily than an adult.

4. Eternal life: a gift that never wears out

• Many Christmas gifts have a limited lifespan: toys break, clothes become too small, things get lost. Jesus is the only gift that never breaks, never wears out, never disappears.
• When we receive the gift that is Jesus, it's almost as if we receive two gifts: him, and then he gives us a second gift that the Bible calls eternal life.
• Eternal life isn't just living a very long time. It's living truly and forever. It's a life with God's love forever, forgiveness for everything we've done wrong, hope for everything that's to come, in 10 years, in 50 years, in 50,000 years.
• And above all, a relationship with God that begins now and continues after death. Imagine a light that nothing can put out: not darkness, not cold, not even death. That is what Jesus brings.

Key Takeaways

• Christmas begins with God's love. God loved the world (not only the perfect, nor only those who deserved it), before we had done anything at all.
• Christmas is God giving Jesus. He did not send an instruction manual or a punishment; he sent a person, his one and only Son.
• Christmas is a gift to be received. Believing means trusting: sitting in the chair, opening your hands, telling God, "I need you."
• Christmas is a gift that never ends: eternal life, a light that nothing can put out, a relationship with God that begins now and continues after death.
• The real question of Christmas isn't "what am I going to receive this year?" but "am I going to open the gift God has given me?"

Personal Application

1. Do I see Christmas first as gifts, lights, meals, or do I return to the essential: God giving his Son?
2. Do I accept that God loves me before I have done anything good or bad?
3. Do I merely think Jesus exists, or do I truly trust him, like sitting in a chair?
4. What am I trying to earn through my own efforts, when God is holding out a free gift?
5. God's gift is there, ready, offered. Am I going to open it today?

Verses Cited

• John 3:16

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the Bible say God "loves the world" when the world is far from perfect?

The Bible doesn't say God loved perfect people, those who deserved it, or those who always went to church. It says he loved the world. God loves what he created, and he especially loves people, whom he made in his image. His love precedes everything else: he loves us before we have done anything good or bad. It's like a parent watching their child sleep, the child hasn't done anything special, and yet is loved.

Why did God send a person, and not something else?

At Christmas, God did not send an instruction manual, a list of rules, a punishment, or a speech. He sent a person, a baby. Because what we need most is not something, but someone: someone who takes our place and does what we cannot do. By living a real human life, Jesus is also someone who understands us, who loves us, who comes with us through difficult times.

How do I know if I "truly believe" in Jesus, and not just in my head?

In the Bible, believing doesn't just mean thinking that God or Jesus exists. To believe is to trust, to receive, to open your hands. It's like this chair I see in front of me: I can examine it, be reasonably sure it will hold me. But the only way to truly know is to sit in it. Trusting Jesus is like that: it's not about being strong, having it all figured out, having all the answers. It's saying to God, "I need you and I want to trust you." And anyone can do that, a child often more easily than an adult.