It’s the season of gift-giving! Although I love getting gifts, I actually think it’s more fun to give them. There’s nothing better than finding just the right thing for someone and that feeling of satisfaction when you see their happiness. 

The greatest Giver sent us the greatest Gift of all time two thousand years ago. And though I would never presume to understand the mind of God, I like to imagine the joy it brought Him to send his Son to us. I wonder what He was thinking that night that Mary laid Jesus, His Holy Child, in the manger. The God of the universe, placing his Son into the world as a human. Willingly, lovingly, sacrificially…

Because God knew what that little child would face when he grew up.

After Lexi passed away, I struggled with the “why.” One particularly heavy morning, I found myself crying out to God in frustration. Why, God? Why did my daughter have to struggle so? Why was she given so many battles on this earth to deal with? She had such a kind and caring heart and was one of the most loving people I had ever known. It had been so hard to watch her struggle with life. I know many of you can relate. Many of you also have a loved one who struggles with addiction, mental illness, physical illness, or some other hardship that weighs them down. It’s heartbreaking to watch.

As I was praying and crying out to God, I suddenly felt Him lay an astounding realization on my heart. God had watched his own Son suffer. His Son Jesus had stood in the shoes of man. He had experienced all the difficulties of being human. He had undergone so much emotional and physical trauma while he was here on this earth – temptation in the desert, rejection by His chosen people, opposition throughout His ministry, and then brutal crucifixion on the cross. And God had witnessed it all.

What an overwhelming thought, to know that God could relate to my heart. His child had gone through pain on this earth, too. 

And then I felt the words deep down in my soul. I did it for you. Because I love you.

Wow.

God put His Son into our world as a human, to experience all the difficulties that humanness brought with it: hunger, weariness, pain. He watched His Son go through it all. And he did it for us. Out of His great love for us.

As we think about gift-giving this year, let our hearts be full of gratitude for the greatest Gift-giver of all. The One who gave us that little child, who would grow up to be the sacrifice for our sins. The One who was willing to do it because He loves us so.  

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”     John 3:16