The greatest gift of Christmas

"God the Father gave up His own Son for us. For you and me! The true cause for wonder this Christmas is the mystery of God's love for us."

During the holiday season, we often focus on the main characters of the Christmas story – Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, the shepherds, the wise men – but we forget the role of God the Father in this epic gospel drama. It's easy to be excited over the narrative facts of Jesus being born in a barn, of angels chorusing the lowliest of men, and of kings traveling miles to worship a child. Yet we should celebrate the story in light of what the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:32: "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" Did you catch that? God the Father gave up His own Son for us. For you and me! The true cause for wonder this Christmas is the mystery of God's love for us.


The mystery of the Godhead can be difficult for us to wrap our minds around. In the biblical sense of the term, "mystery" doesn't mean "beyond understanding," but rather refers to something "awe-inspiring and filled with wonder." The idea of one God who exists eternally as three persons certainly fulfills that definition. God did not create humanity because He needed an object on which to manifest His love and desire. He did not lack companionship before He created man. Love and community already exist in the Godhead eternally, which makes the fact of His love for us even more astonishing. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God the Father was demonstrating the greatest act of love ever performed; He was giving us His own Son, a part of Himself.

The beautiful paradox that God the Father, Spirit, and Son are equally one should come into focus for us at Christmas. Jesus' identity as God is a mystery that should put us in awe. Jesus addressed His authority and position as God extensively in John chapter five. In fact, it was perhaps the leading contributing factor for those who conspired to bring about His death. John 5:18 tells us that they were seeking to kill Him because, "…not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God."

Continuing in John 5, Jesus describes His power and position. He says in verse 20, "For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing. And greater works than these will He show Him, so that you may marvel." The works of the Son were accomplished so that we may "marvel." Do you still marvel at the story of Christmas? It is very easy to become jaded and disillusioned by the materialism and skepticism that dominate our culture. This can leave us in a state where the true meaning of the season is lost. It is interesting that the prophet Isaiah referenced the coming Messiah and said in Isaiah 9:6 that "to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." The first of these Messianic titles is "Wonderful Counselor." Or said in a different way, He is a counselor who inspires wonder.

This wonder is what Christmas should inspire in our hearts. I can imagine many circumstances where I would be moved to lay down my life for others, but as a father, it is very difficult for me to imagine any circumstance where I would volunteer the life of my children for another! But this is what God did for us! God was willing to give us His own Son, so that we could be redeemed from the despair of this world and experience the wonder of knowing God. We live in a fallen world, but at Christmas, some of the wonder of God's grace may be experienced by all because of the greatest gift ever given: The Son of God.