Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 208 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Christmas Love: The Story of God’s Gift to Us #2

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 208 of our Trek, and this week we are hiking the Christmas Trail to learn about some of the key players in the Christmas story. It is my hope that we will learn from these stories that bring hope to the world, not only during Christmas but each day of the year. Today, we will explore the second part of the story titled Christmas Love: The Story of God’s Gift to Us. This is the last story in this week’s Christmas series. These stories are adapted from lessons taught originally by Raymond van Plesten. If you miss any days of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This episode is airing on Christmas Day. If you are listening to the podcast or reading the journal on Christmas Day, I want to say Merry Christmas!!! May your day be a blessed time as we focus on the reason that we celebrate this day.

Christmas was always such a special time for our family growing up. Mom and Dad’s love for each other and for each of the 10 children was reflective of God’s love for us. They especially sacrificed what they had to bring the best possible time of celebration for us as a family.  Let’s make sure that we do all that we can to show God’s love to others every day of the year.

During this Christmas week, we have invested our time on our Trek together reflecting on the true stories surrounding the original Christmas. It is by design that our hike on the Christmas Trail today we are exploring the ultimate gift, which is God’s gift to us – salvation through Jesus Christ whose birth we are celebrating. Today we are exploring the final part of our story.

Christmas Love: The Story of God’s Gift To Us #2

2. God’s gift to you is measured by its cost.

As we serve such a loving and Holy God, we are to give Him our best. He doesn’t want our leftovers. He doesn’t want cheap stuff. He wants the best you and I can give Him. Remember the story of the wise men when I referenced how King David insisted on paying the price for his offerings in 2 Samuel [24:24].

But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.” So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.  

David said if he was going to give a sacrifice to the Lord he was going to give his best – something of value, something of worth. Why would David say that? Because that is what God has done for us. He has given us the most precious gift He could possibly give – something of worth, something of value, something that is one of a kind. He gave us His son.

Look at 1 John [4:10] again.

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

God knew what had to be done. He knew what price had to be paid. He knew what it was going to cost Him, and He sent the best for you and me. He sent Jesus Christ – born as a child for the salvation of the world. If He gave that much to me, what should I give Him?

FACT: God’s gift to me is valuable.

3. God’s present to you is measured by its effectiveness.

If you get a toaster for Christmas, you expect it to be able to make toast. If you get a coffee machine, you expect it to make coffee. If you get a hair curler, you expect it to be able to curl hair. So the question that needs to be asked is “Is it effective? Does it do what it was intended to do?”

What is the love of God intended to do? CHANGE YOU.

Look at these three verses again in 1 John 4:9-11,  “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”

To me, they seem almost like a mathematical formula. 1+1=2. See how it all adds up. “God’s gift is useful PLUS God’s gift is valuable EQUALS we ought to love one another.”

Verse 11 says this, “Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.”

“Ought” sounds like a suggestion, but it’s not. It’s not just some suggestion that God is making to us. The Greek word for “ought” could be translated “must”. The root word actually means “to owe something.” You owe a payment. You are under obligation. You must pay it back! Let me restate the last part of verse 11 again.

…since God loved us that much, we MUST love each other.

Why? Because God is not done loving the world yet. He wants to keep loving the world – through you and through me. Jesus said it this way in Matthew [5:14]-16,

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Does God’s love change you? Does it affect your behavior? Does it affect the way you treat people? You see that is what love is intended to do. It doesn’t make toast. It doesn’t make coffee. It does not curl hair. It changes us into loving compassionate people who care for the needs of those who around us. God wants to love the world, but He has a desire to do through you. Are you willing to let God show His love through you?

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. – 1 John 4:9-11

We certainly MUST love each other.

Because of God’s love for us, He has provided the best Christmas gift to us – a rich and satisfying life on earth and a life for all eternity. God’s love is useful, God’s love is valuable, and God’s love is effective.  This Christmas, take the time to reflect on the wonderful gift that God has given us, and fulfill your purpose of bringing glory to God.  Tomorrow we will begin to explore the wisdom and value of planning with a purpose so that we can create a living legacy each day of 2016. Please encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom each day. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!