The True Christmas Gift

The text is very short, yet it says more to us about the birth of Jesus Christ than a rapid reading would at first indicate. It gives us a picture of Christmas that is well worth remembering. It says, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.”

God in His good pleasure presents us on this day with a beautiful gift, namely, His dear Son. A great many years ago a man from Nazareth, Joseph by name, took his espoused wife Mary to the home of their ancestors in the little village of Bethlehem in Judea. It was a rather long and difficult journey for them, especially for Mary at this time because she was awaiting the birth of the Child Jesus. Due to her condition, the trip was made even slower than otherwise.

No doubt it was well toward evening when they arrived in ancient Bethlehem. To their dismay the little village was overcrowded, so much so that every available place of lodging was filled. Naturally, the officials of the Roman government, who were to conduct a census for the emperor, were given the best accommodations. Also, the keeper of the inn took the opportunity to reserve the rest of his rooms for the wealthier and more prominent citizens, making it almost impossible for anyone else to secure lodging.

Very likely, Joseph searched the entire village to try to find shelter for his wife and himself, and above all for Him who was and is the great gift of God for lost people. At every place he was met with a refusal. There was no room for them. No room for Mary, no room for Joseph, above all no room for God’s precious gift, Jesus Christ.

Is there a place for Him in our heart and life? A most important question!

At last, the innkeeper relented enough, possibly because of Mary’s situation, to allow them the use of his stable. Here, in these poor and lowly surroundings, in the quiet of the night, Mary’s Child was born. She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in the manger, a makeshift crib but one which served its purpose because there lay the Saviour, the gift of heaven, God’s unspeakable gift!

God wanted this Child to be born in just these surroundings and under exactly these circumstances in order to make certain that men would never forget this event. God’s purpose was to show that poor people may receive the real gift, namely, the Christ who came from heaven to do the will of His Father for the welfare of His children, but also as a warning to them who have no need for Christ as the most precious gift ever given to men. Oh, that there might come a need for Him as a propitiation for our sins, and that we might learn more and more to understand, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, something of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye, through His poverty, might be rich.”

If the Lord will teach you this truth, then you will truly know that Jesus Christ is God’s unspeakable gift! In wishing you all a blessed Christmas, let me say that I wish nothing more for you than this: that you can say, by grace, with all your heart, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.”

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