Christmas is full of colors of reds, greens, silvers, and golds. Lights are twinkling like stars from rooftops and Christmas trees. Poinsettias, mistletoe, and holly are plants that fill the season. Bells jingle outside of stores and family and friends gathering together to share meals and exchange gifts. Christmastime is here!
I used to be terrible at wrapping gifts. Everyone in my family always knew which gifts I wrapped because they were usually crumpled and held down with miles and miles of tape. However, I have a friend, known as the “Gangsta Wrapper,” who is notorious for her gift wrapping skills. I strive to be as skilled as her when it comes to picking the perfect wrapping paper and ornaments that will decorate the gifts that I prepare. While my wrapping has improved over the years, her level of creativity is still lost on me. Maybe one day I will make it happen.
Christmas is often a time where I ponder Jesus’ birth and try to wrap my finite brain around the fact that God became human so I can be saved. Lately I have been thinking about what it must have been like for Mary to hold the God of the universe in her arms. The healer and peacemaker was swaddled near her heart. What was it like to snuggle up to the Godchild, the one who would save the entire world from their sins? The child that she comforted would be the same comforter that holds us today. I freely admit that I find these thoughts to be quite overwhelming.
The perfect gift, Jesus, as the baby in the manger, was wrapped in swaddling clothes. As God, He is wrapped up in so much more than an earthly garment. We may wear a cloak of earthly burdens, but He is wrapped in heavenly matters.
When we are wrapped in… | He wraps us in… | Scripture Reference (ESV) |
Brokenness | Emotional Healing | “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18 |
Fear | Peace | “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Isaiah 26:3 |
Guilt | Forgiveness | “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I John 1:9 |
Hopelessness | Hope | “Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”
Proverbs 23:18 |
Loneliness | His Friendship | “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:15 |
Mourning | Joy | “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness…”
Psalm 30:11 |
Shame | Honor | “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
II Timothy 2:21 |
Sickness | Healing | ““If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
Exodus 15:26 |
Sin | Salvation | “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.”
Psalm 149:4 |
Regardless of what you find yourself wrapped in this Christmas, Jesus, the ultimate Christmas Gift, is ready for you to unwrap His kindness towards you. Let Him swaddle you in His excellent goodness. Yes, His birth, death, and resurrection were all gifts to us, but Jesus is a gift that keeps on giving. What gift will you unwrap this year? It does not matter what you are dealing with, there is something for you. Whatever you open, you can bundle yourself in knowing that He is there to supply all of your needs.
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 ESV
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, tto proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion – to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:1-3 ESV
MERRY CHRISTMAS!