God’s Gift To Us

Turn to John 3:16-17.

Some of my fondest childhood memories were made during the holiday season and Christmas time in particular. Of course, I remember the family gatherings and all the good food, but some memories were made from the simple traditions that my parents developed in our own home.

A week or two before Christmas Day, my parents would usually take a couple of hours one evening and wrap all of the Christmas gifts that they had in store for me and my two brothers. As the gifts were wrapped, they would arrange them so nicely under the Christmas tree. I could hardly wait until the next day when I would sneak down to our living room and quietly admire all those gifts. Now each gift had a label on it - and you know what I was doing? I was down there reading each one.

“From: Dad and Mom…To: David.”

“From: Dad and Mom…To: Daniel.”

“From: Dad and Mom…To: Timothy!”

I still remember that as a little kid, my heart would nearly skip a beat every time I saw my name. I’ll admit it: I loved reading the labels and finding the packages that had my name on it. Now why? I knew that my parents had thoughtfully picked that gift with my needs and desires in mind. It was especially for me. It had my name on it.

Think about this: imagine if I had gone under that tree one morning to read the gift labels and I found one and here’s what it said:

“From: God…To: Timothy.”

Can you imagine the wonder and awe I would have felt as a little child had I read a label like that!

Now I’ve never seen a label like that on a Christmas gift, but I have seen a message like that in the Bible and its found in John 3:16.

Read John 3:16-17.

When I read John 3:16, I see that Christmas gift label that I mentioned earlier:

“From: God…To: Timothy.”

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The giver of the gift: God

Kids, can you imagine what that would be like if God had given you a Christmas gift? That would be the best gift ever, wouldn’t it?

Well, that’s exactly what God did. This verse says that God gave a gift to us.

It doesn’t say that Pastor Tim gave a gift.

It doesn’t say that Dad or Mom gave a gift.

It says that God gave a gift: His only begotten Son.

There is no better giver than God. He gives only good gifts. He gives the very best gifts. No other giver can compare to the God that already has everything.

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The motivation behind the gift: Love

Why would God ever offer a gift to the world? Why would God offer a gift to you and me?

I can assure you of this: it’s not because we deserve it. In fact, we don’t deserve anything good from God. But 2000 years ago, long before you or I could ever give anything to God, He chose to offer you and me a gift. Now why did He even bother to do that? Jesus tells us at the beginning of verse 16.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave…”

That’s the reason. Jesus tells us that the reason or the motivation behind this gift was one word: love.

That’s why God offered us this gift.

It’s not because we could earn it. An infinite God isn’t much impressed with frail human efforts anyway.

It’s not because we deserved it - we hadn’t done anything for God.

No, it’s not because of how amazing we are, it’s because of how amazing He is. He chose to love us!

Application: Church family, I want to pause and remind you of what John wrote in 1 John 4:19.

1 John 4:19 KJV 1900

We love him, because he first loved us.

If you’re saved tonight, the least you can do is love God and live in a way that pleases Him in return for how greatly He has loved you.

We’ve seen the giver of the gift is God, secondly the motivation behind the gift is love, now thirdly…

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The uniqueness of the gift: His only Begotten Son

I don’t know what it’s like to offer your son as a gift to someone else, but God does. God knows, because He did just that. God the Father gave the most precious gift that He had. He gave his only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins. The word “begotten” means “one-of-a-kind.” There’s no one else like the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Many books have been written about Him, but I assure you, there is none like Him.

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The condition to receive the gift: believe on Christ alone

God’s Gift To Us: what is it? It’s His precious Son. Jesus, like His Father, has always existed from eternity past. But at Christmas time we celebrate the miracle that Jesus came to this earth from heaven. He came as the sinless God-man. He lived a perfect life and then died on the cross as a blood sacrifice for sin. He died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins - which are all the immoral things that we have done to break God’s law.

As I’ve indicated, though, there is a condition. There is a condition that you have to meet in order for Christ’s righteousness to be applied to your account before a holy God. You must trust Christ alone to save you from sin. In other words, it’s not enough to believe that Jesus existed. It means you must decide that you are going to trust Jesus to save you and nobody and nothing else. If you make that choice, Jesus tells us in verse 17 what happens. Here it is: “he that believeth on [Jesus] is not condemned.”

You must understand that you are a sinner before a holy God and the only way of escape for His judgment for sin is found in God’s gift to us: the Lord Jesus Christ. I invite you to trust Him as your Savior today and then to tell us, so that we can rejoice with you that your sins are forgiven!