Christmas itself can be likened to a Christmas gift, where the giver is God, the gift is Jesus, and the recipient is both the whole world and each of us personally. The analogy is based on what is probably the best known and most important verse in the Bible, John 3:16. I’d heard the analogy many times over the years and even used it myself, but the following email to the editor from Paloma Sridhar in Bangalore, India, added a surprising twist:

One day I set out to teach John 3:16 to my youngest sister, Rosie, six, but instead came to a milestone realization myself. Our conversation went something like this:

“Did you know, Rosie, that it only takes one verse from the Bible to explain to people how they can be sure they’ll go to Heaven when they die?”

“Which one?” Rosie asked.

“John 3:16. It goes like this—‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’”

“I know that one!” Rosie proudly exclaimed.

“You do? Can you say it for me?”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16.”

“Very good! But God doesn’t have an only forgotten…”

I stopped myself mid-sentence. How easy it is to get so caught up in the rush of daily living that we don’t give Jesus so much as a passing thought!

How true—and how sad, especially on His birthday! Just think how you would feel if on your birthday everyone partied and gave one another gifts, but left you sitting alone in a corner unnoticed. This Christmas, let’s all remember to thank God for His incomparable gift to the world, Jesus. And let’s all give Jesus the gifts that will mean the most to Him. If you can’t imagine what He could possibly want or need, the articles on the following pages should give you some ideas.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Activated.

Keith Phillips

For Activated