What Did Jesus Do?
“We all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 2:3
If Jesus used Santa’s famous “Naughty and Nice” List, the best any of us could every hope for on Christmas would be coal in our stockings. The worst, which, apart from Jesus, we all could be certain of, is that we would end up no better than coal ourselves, fuel for the flames of Hell. Thankfully, Jesus ignored Santa’s list!
Think about it, Paul was right on target in Ephesians 2:3. At one time all of us have lived, and many of continue to live, not the Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous, but the Lifestyle of the Disobedient and Sinful. We are all, by nature, children of wrath. Fortunately, there’s something greater than nature at work in the world—“God’s great love for us, even when we were dead in our trespasses.” (Ephesians 2:4) So, according to his great love, the Father chose, before the foundations of the earth itself were laid, those who names would be on a very different list than Santa’s. On the Father’s list, which he wrote down even before “In the beginning,” are the names of all he will ever adopt as daughters and sons in and through the Son, Jesus Christ.
Where Santa gives gifts according to our deserving, nice gifts if we’ve been nice, coal if we’ve been naughty, the Father is motivated by grace alone, which is to say that he is pleased, according to the counsel of his own will, to give his love to those who definitely don’t deserve it. That’s what grace is all about, our getting what we don’t deserve for Christmas, because, for Christmas the Father gave us the Son, Jesus. And Jesus is careful and thorough to make certain that everyone who is on the Father’s list receives adoption, and that no one ever loses this greatest gift. (John 17:12)
You know, if we loved our children as much as God loves us, we would spare them the exquisite torture of worrying about whether they made it onto Santa’s Nice list, or will find coal in their stockings Christmas morning because they’ve been naughty. If we really loved our children, we would talk a lot less about Santa and his Naughty and Nice List, and a lot more about the Father’s Grace List, and his great gift of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be a truly joyful Christmas if the whole family celebrated and shared Jesus? Let’s try ignoring Santa’s list this year, and give the gift of grace to those we love , that’s what Jesus did.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
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