Merry Christmas.
A quick thought for both personal and family devotions.
Regardless of your economic situation, it is likely this time of the year that you do whatever you can to bring joy to your children with gifts. You may even sacrifice some of your own joy or even needs to be able to provide something extra at Christmas. Although we do this because we love our kids, we do get some satisfaction out of it ourselves too. Seeing the beaming smile or even hearing a gleeful shout is often all the thanks we need, but when they respond with sincere appreciation, it means that much more.
Compare this with the gifts from our Heavenly Father. Salvation is ours because He loves us, and it came with the sacrifice and powerful resurrection of His Son Jesus. When we respond to God with sincere thanks and actively strive to live for Him, it means that much more in our lives.
And consider this: if we find joy in giving gifts to our children, we should be even more eager to share the Gift of God's love with them. How often do we put more effort into our kids earthly needs and wants than we do caring for them spiritually.
In your personal quiet time this week, thank God for his gifts. Give Him that same sincere appreciation that you know you want from your own children.
In your family devotions this week, take time to use the season's gift giving to talk about the gifts we get from God. Make sure your family knows the best gift you can give them is to help them know Jesus in their lives.
John 3:16 New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.