Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”

I knew that he would break it. That remote controlled car was the perfect gift, but I knew that, eventually, my 5 year old son would break it. I bought the car anyway. I watched as his face lit up with excitement Christmas morning. I watched as he pushed, raced, dropped, threw, bumped and played with that toy car day after day. My son loved that car, but as expected, one day he broke the car.  

I did everything I could to fix the broken car, to no avail, so I knew it was time to retire it to the trash. As I was stuffing the car back in the box, the instruction fell out. I picked them up and glanced at him, only to be shocked at what I read. The instructions included a warning that listed steps to take to ensure the toy was used properly. I hadn’t even gotten to the first step, remove the strip of plastic from the car wheels, before I realized… I should have read the instructions first.

I think about the gift that God gave us in Jesus, His only son. God freely gave us a gift, knowing that our human hands would eventually break it. He loved us enough to give us Jesus, anyway. But God knew that we’d need instructions on how to love our gift, so he gave us His precious word. The Word of God gives us warnings and instructions of love, guidance, repentance, joy and peace. We have to remember to read those beautiful instructions to grow in knowledge about the gift that has come to love and save.

As we all celebrate Christmas, let’s not forget about the instructions. Take time to read the bible and let the Word of God speak to you and guide you on how to love God’s perfect gift to us all. Don’t get caught up in simply receiving the gifts, but learning and growing in the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for allowing us to acknowledge Jesus during the Christmas season. Father I pray that you will be with us and remind us that you loved us enough to not only give us the gift of Jesus, but you gave us the gift of your living word. Help me to lean into both. In Jesus’s Name, Amen

By: Min April Carter