All that has come before is preparation, and now is the day the gift is unwrapped and we meet God. All of the wrapping has come off. The prophecy of a coming forerunner in John, the dazzling annunciation from a heavenly being, Joseph the loving and faithful fiancé, and the virgin birth are all just wrapping paper. The gift is inside. The gift is Jesus, God amongst us!

Jesus, the Gift, is God’s presence of grace. At the coming of Christ, grace became complete. “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16-17).

Jesus, the Gift, is God’s presence of mercy. “Mercy may be defined as God’s compassion which moved Him to send a Savior for the lost world.”6

Jesus, the Gift, is God’s presence of love. This God-sacrificing love is an all-giving love that sent Christ to the cross for our sins.

When we unwrap the gift, we are enabled to live our lives for God (Col. 1:29, Tit. 2:11-12), giving us a new status with God (I Pet. 2:9), as he gifts us with every spiritual blessing for this life and the life to follow! (Eph. 1:13-14).

What a wonderful gift! Is it any wonder that John the apostle closed the book of Revelation and the New Testament with the benediction, “the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (Rev. 22:21). God has come to be with us!