The 125th South Carolina General Assembly will begin Tuesday, Jan. 9, and conclude Thursday, May 30. In between those two dates, members of the Assembly will propose, debate, pass, and vote down legislation that will affect the lives of nearly 5.2 million South Carolinians. In January, I will outline some of the legislative priorities that reflect resolutions passed by the South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention. My advocacy will always be guided by the Word of God and the Baptist Faith and Message.
However, this month our hearts and minds are focused on the miraculous event known as the incarnation. God became a man embracing full humanity while retaining His divinity. Most of us will celebrate His coming by putting up a Christmas tree, decorated with lights and ornaments surrounded by gifts. As I was putting up my Christmas tree this year, the thought struck me: If God has a Christmas tree, what gifts would be found under the tree?
I can imagine many gifts under God’s Christmas tree that we could celebrate, but I want to focus on three that I think will give us ample reason for celebration this season. First, there is the gift of justification. Justification is the divine verdict that says we have been set free from the penalty of sin. The great thing about justification is that it is a “one size fits all” gift. No matter how bad your sin or how hopeless your situation, when you repent and surrender your life to Christ you are immediately clothed in His righteousness. The sinless nature of Christ is applied to your life, and the guilt and stain of sin is removed. God has a “no return” policy on justification. Once it is given and received, it can never be returned and will never be rescinded.
The second gift is the gift of peace with God. When sin entered the world through rebellion in the Garden of Eden, it set up a barrier between us and God that could not be crossed from our side of the barrier. The death of Christ on the cross removed that barrier so that we could be peacefully reconciled to God. This is the peace the angels spoke of when they announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. The “peace on earth” of the angels’ message is not a universal peace that covers the whole world but rather an individual peace that describes the relationship between God and those who are in Christ. The gift of peace with God creates another gift: the gift of peace with each other. Only when we find vertical peace with God can we experience the secondary gift of horizontal peace with our family, co-workers, neighbors, and friends.
A third precious gift under God’s Christmas tree is the gift of access. As believers, we now have unlimited access to the very throne room of the universe. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Paul tells us sin separated us from God, “but now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility …” (Eph. 2:13–24). We are no longer strangers separated from God. We are children of God adopted into His kingdom and welcome in His presence through the blood of His Son.
These gifts and so many more are waiting to be received with joy. We can find them under the tree … God’s Christmas tree. It isn’t an evergreen. It is an old rugged cross. It isn’t decorated with lights or tinsel. It is covered with the precious blood of God’s Son. Everyone who comes to that tree, that old rugged cross, and believes will find God’s greatest gift: the gift of salvation.
I pray that you and your family will have a very Merry Christmas! May God’s love warm your hearts and your home this Christmas.