CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN: GOD’S GIFT FOR YOU WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED

Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

Have you ever wondered what God’s gift for you is? Maybe you have always wondered if God has something for you that is personal and specific to you. Well, today I have some good news for you. There is a gift from God for you. And the best part is that it is accessible and has no strings attached. And God’s gift for you is His unconditional love for you that leads to eternal life. God loves you. He sent His Son to die on the cross to redeem you and me when we were still sinners. He paid a price so great to rescue you. For those who are parents, can you imagine giving up your child to save someone else? I would imagine that you would give a stern No! God did not spare His Son just so He could redeem us.

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³¹ What shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32)

So now.

See how amazing this is? God did not spare His own Son because of His love for you and me. This is how precious you are to Him. You are not just normal. You are a royal priesthood and you are God’s possession. God wants you to know that you are not just an afterthought. If He could allow His Son to pay such a price for you, why would you allow yourself to feel unworthy? Why would you allow the enemy to make you feel less than who God created you to be?

God’s gift for you is love, but there is more to it. His gift for you is salvation and redemption. Because you were a slave to sin, God paved a way that would guarantee eternal life. And therefore, the greatest demonstration of His love stems from the finished works of the cross. The ultimate sacrifice was Jesus paying the price for sins that you and I committed.

Maybe you are wondering how this applies as a gift to you. So let me paint you a picture (well, figuratively). Can you imagine having someone decide to take the penalty for your sin? And not have you bear the full consequences for your actions? Picture yourself having to go to jail or even worse because of your sin, and then someone offers to go to jail on your behalf. And because of their actions, you gain freedom. This is what Jesus did.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ( John 15:13)

What was the cost of God’s gift for you and me?

Jesus had to go through a process before He could get to the cross. There was a price to pay so that we could receive the gift.

God’s gift for you was first manifested in the conception and birth of Jesus. He had to be born like you and me. But His birth had to be different because He had a purpose. For Him to fully pay the price, He had to be a spotless lamb with no blemishes. And that was why His conception was supernatural.

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin whom Joseph, a descendant of David, had pledged to marry. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ These words greatly troubled Mary and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 

³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” ³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 

Second, He had to come on earth and leave His Godly attribute. Imagine Him leaving Heaven- a perfect place to come to the broken world because of you and me.

⁹ But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. ¹⁰  In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 

¹¹ Both the ones who make people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. 12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;  in the assembly, I will sing your praises.” ¹³ And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

¹⁴ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

 ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁷ For this reason he had to be made like them,  fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he can help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:9-18)

This scripture just shows us how much of a sacrifice it must have been. Jesus accepted a rank lower than the angels for a season. It was in doing this, that you and I received the gift of salvation and eternal life. Would you picture yourself living in the worst of circumstances for the sake of someone else? Mind you, this is someone who does not even know or acknowledge you. It was a risk that Jesus took. Because of free will, we have an option to choose or reject the gift. But Jesus did it anyway.

The other way that God reflected His gift for you was through the fasting and testing period.

Jesus had to go to the wilderness for a reason. In fact, the Bible tells us it was the Holy Spirit that led Jesus to the wilderness for the devil to tempt Him.

4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 

⁵ And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, ⁶ and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. ⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God,  and him only shall you serve.’”

⁹ And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’¹¹ and “‘On their hands, they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” ¹² And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” ¹³ And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Therefore

Through this victory, Jesus gained authority and He could start His ministry powerfully. His ministry was full of power and He was very effective in everything He did. He had to not use His Sonship anyhow because He understood His assignment. He could have easily changed the stone to bread or even proved His Sonship in any of the other two instances. But He did not. He went through the process like everyone else. And this was after God had validated Him.

God already loved Jesus even before He ever started His ministry. God validating Jesus before He started His ministry is proof that God loves us regardless and there is nothing we can do that can change that. In verse 10, the writer tells us that Jesus saw the heavens open. The fact was not physical but spiritual. The intimate relationship that Jesus had with God led to Him receiving this revelation. One thing we should know is that we cannot understand the depth of God’s love unless we are in a relationship with Him.

3 things we need to do before we can receive the revelation of God’s love

• Cultivate a relationship with God
• Obedience
• Receive it

God has already given us His Love. But our experiences, our relationship with our parents, and those with authority over us end up distorting our perception of His love. This makes it difficult to accept or even understand God’s love for us. Through a relationship with God, He slowly reveals Himself to us and allows us to soak in His love. The caveat is before we can experience God’s love personally, the lies we have to dissociate from the lies we have believed. This process involves a lot of pain, and it is very difficult to see His love in these moments. In retrospect, though, His love becomes clear. He loves you unconditionally.

Although God’s love is unconditional, it makes the revelation of His love clear when we follow His ways. Obedience is key to obtaining revelation, and so we should aim to be obedient. Obedience doesn’t have to look like it’s a difficult thing, it starts with the small things like loving your neighbor, obeying the commandments He gave us, and focusing on Him to where our old carnal ways weaken.

Receiving God’s love is merely believing that He loves you and that He cannot love you any more than He already does right now. No matter how many times your family hurts you, you never stop loving them. God’s love is greater than that, so whenever you forget God’s love for you, always remember that His love for you and me is greater, deeper, and wider than we can ever imagine.

God’s gift for you was evident when Jesus was nearing His ultimate purpose. And this was in Gethsemane.

³⁶ Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup away from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

⁴⁰ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. ⁴¹ “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴² He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

⁴³ When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. ⁴⁵ Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Jesus, at any point, could have forfeited the assignment. After all, He knew the pain He was going to endure. The agony He felts was so intense that He started sweating blood. Can you imagine that? And that He prayed three times to have the cup removed from Him shows the magnitude of the sacrifice. He had to ask for strength from God to endure. The cup was bitter. And He bore all this yet He was without sin. He did not deserve it. God allowed Jesus to go through this for you and me.

Jesus faced rejection, ridicule, and pain as He headed to the cross because of you, and I

The people Jesus came to serve rejected Him. He came to set us free from the bondage of sin and death. Instead of embracing Him, we rejected Him because we did not understand what He was doing.

¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus^[b] Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ²¹ “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. ²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” ²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴ When Pilate saw he was getting nowhere, but that instead, an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” ²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers and Pharisees mocked Jesus

²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

They wound Jesus for our transgressions. The soldiers slapped and beat Him like a criminal. And yet He was sinless.

Then Pilate ordered the soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip of leather straps embedded with metal. And the soldiers also wove thorn branches into a crown and set it on his head and placed a purple robe over his shoulders. Then, one by one, they came in front of him to mock him by saying, “Hail, to the king of the Jews!” And one after the other, they repeatedly punched him in the face.

The cross was the ultimate display of the cost of God’s gift to you

35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watching over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 

At the cross, Jesus felt abandoned by God. Jesus felt the full wrath of God on our behalf. Jesus lay all our sins on the cross when He gave His life. Remember, He was the one who willingly laid His life, and no one took it from Him. This is evident in the verses that follow the scripture above. He said,” Into your hands, I commit my Spirit.” Jesus laid it all for us. His journey was not without pain and sacrifice.

But He was intentional. He did not look at the pain of the cross. But He considered the joy. You see, the best part about all this is that Jesus did it all for love. He set you free and redeemed you. And He also made a public spectacle of death. So death now has no hold of you. This is because Jesus translated you out of the kingdom of darkness into His marvelous light.

Conclusion.

I hope this blog gives you a rough idea of the gift that Jesus purchased for you through His love. The gift is love, but the love was sacrificial. And it was through Him laying His life down for you. You cannot earn God.s gift for you. You can only receive it. So bask in His love and enjoy the gift of salvation and eternal life.

God wants you to know that His gift of love for you has no strings attached. God will never stop loving you. Instead, He wants you to experience the fullness of His love. So that you can experience the fullness of who He created you to be. When you receive His love, you will love others well. Have you ever wondered how to learn to love yourself and others well? Today I want to give you the secret and that is to receive His love today.