This Jesus

The focus of our Christmas, this series even, tends to be presents, tradition, family, baking.  All good things. But in case you missed it, or in case I wasn’t completely clear, let me introduce you to someone.

Remember my niece, singing “Away in a Manger” to her baby Jesus?  She had it right. I want to introduce you to him.

If you don’t know this Jesus, I want you to know that he sees who you really are, and he loves you anyway. He loves you so much that he came to this earth as a baby.  He came to this earth and lived a perfect life, perfection that we can never achieve no matter how hard we try. He lived a perfect life and then he was crucified. He was perfect and paid the price for our imperfection. He died and then he rose, so we can live, too. No amount of shiny paper, ribbons or bows will make us good enough. He makes us good enough.  This is His gift to us.

The peace that we search out each Christmas can only come from him. We exchange gifts with each other because he was God’s gift to mankind. We decorate evergreen trees to remind us of eternal life with Jesus. We sing hymns and carols that all point to him. Even St. Nick wanted us to meet Jesus.

As you go about your Christmas, know that he goes with you. And when you invite him into your heart, as you begin to follow him, he won’t just be with you on Christmas, but every day of the year.