Will your gifts be thrown away?

I was recently shocked to learn that each year in America over $5 million worth of Christmas gifts are inadvertently thrown away on Christmas Day. It seems difficult to believe, but many of us have experienced it at one time or another. The hustle and bustle of Christmas morning excitement leaves a trail of torn wrapping paper, bows, boxes, and bags. Sometimes gifts are mistakenly gathered in the collection of the post-celebration trash and are discarded. It is more than a financial tragedy; each of those lost gifts were acts of generosity, given with sentiment from a loving heart.
Such a waste is even worse when it happens spiritually. This year, as Christmas passes and the celebration of the season fades, let me encourage you not to discard the gifts that God has bestowed upon you. Christmas is no less than God loving the world in an incomparable way - so much that He gave His beloved Son to dwell with us, teach us, die for us, and save us from our sin. Make sure that you don’t discard the gifts that come with a relationship with Jesus Christ. What are they?
Joy. Hope. Peace. Satisfaction. Contentment. Mercy. Compassion. Help. Healing. Awe. Wonder. Empowerment. These are gifts that make life worth living! And God loves you so much that He was willing to die to offer them to you. Christmas Day has passed, but God’s generosity extends to His people forever. May His gifts live in our hearts!
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Printed in the January 3, 2013 edition