The Greatest Gift

By Bill Brandstatter     As you are shopping this Christmas season, you might be looking for the greatest gift. That gift cannot be bought in a store. The greatest gift was given a long time ago. It was given by the greatest giver. It was given to the greatest group of people. It will last for the greatest amount of time.     John records for us in John 3:16 about this gift. He records the words of our Lord who stated, “For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” God didn’t just like the world. He didn’t mildly love it. The text says he “so loved” the world. God, the greatest giver, loves with a capacity and an ability that is foreign to this world. He wants all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:4)     The greatest gift was God’s Son. He was not an ordinary son, however. He was God’s “only begotten son.” This means he was conceived uniquely. The angel announced to Joseph, “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 1:20) No one before or since came to earth in this manner. He became God’ s Son after He was born to Mary (Luke 1:35).     God gave the gift to the greatest group of people—the world. The entire world can have the gift of eternal life through Jesus if they humbly obey Him (Heb. 5:9). The disciples were commissioned by our Lord to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature...” (Mark 16:15) God sent His son for the salvation of the world. Every person can become a child of God. (Gal. 3:26-28).     The gift will last the greatest amount of time. The end of John 3:16 states, “...but have everlasting life.” In our age of calendars, appointments, schedules, and deadlines, it is hard for us to fathom the thought of something being “everlasting.” Life beyond this life will go on forever. Jesus alludes to this when He mentioned those who would have “eternal life.” (Mt. 25:46) Jesus has the words of eternal life. (John 6:68) The greatest gift given to us, the only begotten son of God, also can give us the greatest gift of salvation. (Eph. 2:8) If we do what the Savior wants us to do, we can have the eternal life that is found only in Him.

- Bill Brandstatter preaches for the Marion Church of Christ in Marion, IL. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://marionchurchofchrist.com/