The Gift

[Jeremy]

It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
It came without packages, boxes or bags!”
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
“Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Merry Christmas LDSFF.

[katmr]

Merry Christmas to you too, Jeremy!! The title of your thread reminds me of an experience we had last night. I hope it's okay to share here.

We had taken our children to Temple Square and we had decided to make bags of snacks and few other items beforehand to hand out to the homeless or beggars while we were there. We came upon a man playing his harmonica and my 7 yr. old daughter approached him and handed him this bag that she had been so excited to help make and hand out. The man abruptly threw it on the ground and stood up and shouted at her that he was 'Not homeless and he didn't need what she had given him.' He said he needed money and he was visibly angry with what she had given him.
We all were taken back by his reaction but especially my 7 year old who looked back at us...her parents, with a look of sadness and confusion in her face. Here she was offering a gift of herself to him and he promptly threw it aside. The first thought of reaction from both me and my husband was 'That man doesn't deserve anything. How ungrateful.' But the spirit taught me that I have also been undeserving and ungrateful of the greatest gift that he could give us...our Savior. He is standing there to give us the gift of Him daily. How often do I accept? Or do I throw it aside? When God gives me an experience to learn and to grow...a gift...how many times have I thrown it aside thinking I should have been given something else? Even though this man said he was not homeless, we are truly without a home without our Savior. When we covenant to take His name upon us he is giving us one of the greatest gifts...which is His name. There is no other name under the heavens whereby man may be saved and He is willing to give that name to us. I hope that I may more graciously accept His gift in my life. Heavenly Father showed me that I have been no different than this man that I was condemning in my heart and mind. Heavenly Father never condemned me and even though I've been undeserving, He loved me enough to provide me a Savior. Heavenly Father showed me that the problem with this man was not so much his ungratitude (is that even a word :)) ) but the problem was he didn't recognize the gift he was being given. He is the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness truly does not comprehend. Merry Christmas everyone!!! May we recognize His gift.

[Daryl]

Great posts. Thanks for sharing your insights.

I love this: James 1:17 wrote:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...

I never remember reading that before. Really cool!!!