Love, Jesus

What would it be like to wake up Christmas morning and find a gift under the tree from Jesus? 

I imagine it would be the first gift each of us would open. 

What would his handwriting on the tag look like? 

How would he wrap it? Would it be lavishly presented or very simple? 

The tag would probably say something like “Merry Christmas. Love, Jesus.” 

What would Jesus want to give? 

I wonder if we would tear open the package, anxious to see the contents. Or, would we take our time with reverent awe, not wanting the moment to pass too quickly? 

One thing is for sure: whatever Jesus wrapped up would be perfect. 

Maybe it would be: 

  • something amazing we had always wished for but had never bought for ourselves. 
  • a wonderful trip to see the most beautiful places he created. 
  • something we could eat that would provide a miracle of health or healing. 
  • a note containing the perfect words to say to someone we love. 
  • something we could put on a shelf that would be a constant reminder of his love. 

Jesus would give us our favorite gifts. 

Christmas wishes

What is your Christmas wish? Have you asked Jesus to give you anything this year? 

Sometimes we forget that Jesus loves us and wants to bless our lives with the best things. Jesus gives good gifts, but we don’t always know to ask for them. Not for ourselves anyway. 

Where did we get the idea that asking Jesus for things was selfish? Self-centered? Shallow? 

Why is it okay to tell Santa our Christmas wishes, but not Jesus? 

We should ask

Jesus was preaching the Sermon on the Mount when he taught his followers to ask. 

He said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7–11). 

Sometimes we focus on the what of these verses instead of the why

Maybe the key word in this passage is ask. Jesus points out that his Father wants to give and that his gifts are good things. He also points out that everyone who asks receives and everyone who seeks a gift from God will find one. 

Love, Jesus 

If you ask, there will be a gift for you this Christmas tagged “Love, Jesus.” It might be a thing, but most certainly it is a relationship. 

When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, he already knew the “good gift” that God had wrapped up for each of us. Jesus knew that his Father gives “good things to those who ask him.” 

Jesus makes something else clear: God waits for us to ask him. Why? 

Because the greatest gift of life is a restored relationship with our Father, the Creator of all things perfect. 

Ask again 

We are supposed to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. The gift of our relationship with God is a “never-ending” one. The Christmas gift tagged “Love, Jesus” is also given on the twenty-sixth, the twenty-seventh, and every other day of the year. 

Jesus gave himself for Christmas. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and presented to the world with a tag that still reads “Love, Jesus.” 

If you are reading this blog, you probably know that. You probably have asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. You probably know that the greatest gift of life is your restored relationship to God through salvation in Christ. 

So, why did Jesus tell us to keep asking? We already have what we most need. 

Because the gifts from our restored relationship with God continue. We need to ask again, and again, and again because God wants to continually “give good things to those who ask him.” 

What should you ask for? 

We should ask for the things that the name of Jesus can provide. We should ask knowing that our answers will provide the greatest joy we can experience in our lives. We should ask for what Jesus wants us to have. 

Jesus knew he was at the end of his earthly life when he told his disciples, “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). 

Could it be that our greatest gift is the knowledge that we can always and forever ask God for what Jesus died to give us? 

Your gift

There is a box for you this Christmas with a tag that reads “Love, Jesus.” Inside is a promise that you can always ask God, for anything. 

Jesus died to give you that gift. Is it sitting on a shelf, or do you use it every day? 

God will always give you the best gifts. They will be what you have asked for or something even better. His gifts are always perfect and always what Jesus wanted us to have for our eternal good. 

Jesus said, “Ask God. All the time. Keep asking him.” Merry Christmas. Love, Jesus.