Even kids will agree, Christmas is all about the gift.
It is almost impossible to separate Christmas from gift-giving. Whether is the stocking filled with presents, the gifts piled up under the tree, the work secret Santa or the charity giving tags at the mall, we see gifts everywhere we look at Christmas.
When I think about the sorts of gifts we give, they are more often focused on 'stuff' than they are on 'relationship'. Christmas can begin to feel transactional where we're just passing around gift cards at the right dollar value to make sure everyone gets the same amount of 'stuff'.
The gifts we give (although not a bad thing!) are in sharp contrast to why we celebrate Christmas. God's great gift is of himself and the possibility of real and eternal relationship.
This is a season where we particularly celebrate God becoming man. We celebrate the Creator becoming part of the creation. It is clearly expressed in John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."
And this gift is given so that we can have real and eternal relationship with God. We see this in John 1:12. "to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God".
Christmas is all about the gift. The greatest gift God has given is a relationship with us through his Son. That is something worth celebrating.
We will begin our Christmas celebrations with Carols on 27 & 28 November at Tory Street. Weather permitting the Family Carols (4pm on 27th & 10am on 28th) will be followed by a picnic at the Pukeahu National War Memorial. The more adult-friendly Night Carols (7:30pm on 27th & 6pm on 28th) will be followed by supper.
Grace & peace,
Andrew