The Giver’s Delight /礼物

[Dexu Xia]

The Giver’s Delight

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:11

Remember Tickle Me Elmo? Cabbage Patch Kids? The Furby? What do they have in common? Each rank among the twenty most popular Christmas gifts of all time. Also included on the list are familiar favorites such as Monopoly, the Nintendo Game Boy, and Wii.

We all delight in giving gifts at Christmas, but that’s nothing compared to God’s delight in giving the first Christmas gift. This gift came in the form of a baby, born in a Bethlehem manger (Luke 2:7).

Despite His humble birth, the Child’s arrival was proclaimed by an angel who declared, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (vv. 10–11). Following this magnificent news, a “heavenly host” appeared, “praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests’” (vv. 13–14).

This Christmas, enjoy giving gifts to your loved ones, but never lose sight of the reason for the giving—the spectacular favor of God on His creation crystallized in the gift of His own Son to save us from our sin. We give because He gave. May we worship Him in gratitude!

Why is Jesus the greatest Christmas gift you ever received? How can you share this gift with others more effectively?

Father, thank You for Jesus—the greatest gift of all

礼物

因今天在大卫的城里，为你们生了救主，就是主基督。-路加福音2章11节

还记得芝麻街里那个红色的搔痒玩偶吗？可爱的包心菜娃娃？菲比小精灵？这些玩偶有一个共同点，他们都名列最热门的20种圣诞礼物排行榜。排行榜中其他的热销商品还包括大富翁、任天堂游戏机，PS4和Wii家用游戏机。

我们都会满心喜悦地在圣诞节送礼物给人，但我们所送的礼物却远不及上帝送出的第一份圣诞礼物。这份礼物就是降生于伯利恒一个马槽里的婴儿（路加福音2章7节）。

尽管这个婴孩的出生卑微，但祂降生的消息却由天使宣告：“我报给你们大喜的信息，是关乎万民的。因今天在大卫的城里，为你们生了救主，就是主基督”（10-11节），随即又忽然出现了一大队天军赞美上帝说：“在至高之处荣耀归与上帝！在地上平安归与祂所喜悦的人！”（13-14节）

在今年的圣诞节，你仍然可以享受送礼给至亲好友的喜乐，但千万不要忘了在圣诞节送人礼物的真正缘由，那是因为上帝恩待祂所创造的人类，甚至将祂的独生爱子赐给我们，拯救我们脱离所犯的罪恶。我们能够给予别人，是因为祂先给了我们。愿我们能以感恩的心敬拜颂赞祂！

为什么耶稣是你收到最棒的圣诞礼物？
你要如何与人分享这份最好的礼物呢？

最棒的礼物就是主耶稣！