The Present

God has a PRESENT for you this Christmas.

You probably think you already know what it is – but I wonder if you’re right. (No fair skipping ahead to see what it is.)

Most of us would guess that the present contains eternal life. Christmas, after all, is the unfolding of God’s plan to bring salvation. God’s gift to us was Jesus, and in accepting this gift we have eternal life. And you are partly right – but that’s not all of your present from him.

Don’t get me wrong here – eternal life is an awesome gift. But it’s focused only on the future – what about the here and now? Eternal life is not immediately comforting to the homeless man on the street, wondering where he’ll sleep tonight. Or the child in Africa, now an orphan because of AIDS.

In his infinite ability to meet our needs, God’s Christmas gift not only takes care of our future, He focuses on our PRESENT. The everyday life and struggles that are around us – big and small.

Think about it: when Jesus first spoke in the temple, the “kick off” of his ministry, His first words were focused on immediate needs:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free. (Luke 4:17-19)

This is the full gift of Christmas – the freedom from our pain, our fears, our struggles. Yes, we have the future hope of eternal life, but we can also claim present victory from whatever has enslaved us. We’ve all got our issues, because let’s face it: life is hard. Messy, exhausting, and yes, sometimes it seems unbearable.

The moment we accept Christ, we have the present gift of freedom. It may be immediate victory over your sin, instant deliverance from sin or pain that you’ve struggled with for years. More likely, though, your freedom comes to you in stages, because it takes you a while to recognize and claim this precious gift.

But you are free.

If you’re in ministry (and as I discussed in an earlier post, we all are), your job is to share this gift of freedom with the poor. How you define who is poor, and what freedom means will vary – but your gift to the world this season is freedom.

The gift has already been given to you, wrapped up, and delivered to your front door. If you haven’t already, it is time for you to unwrap this precious gift. Claim your freedom – and then determine how you will minister to others so that they can do the same.

"Come thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in Thee."  --Charles Wesley