The Gift We All Can Give This Christmas - Part 1

As Christmas day approaches some of us might be worried about getting presents and gifts planned, organized, completed, purchased, packed, wrapped, and shipped. Many might wonder how they are going to pay for presents. Others simply use credit and do not worry about paying for Christmas until their bills come due later (in fact, approximately 25% of Americans, according to one survey, take one year or more to pay off their Christmas debt {source}). Whether we can afford expensive gifts or no gifts, we can all afford one gift at Christmas - the gift of forgiveness. We can forgive others for any real or perceived wrongs they did unto us or loved ones and in turn we can be forgiven by God.

Pres. Henry B. Eyring wrote,

"Many of us have lost loved ones to death. We may be surrounded by individuals who seek to destroy our faith in the gospel and the Lord’s promises of eternal life. Some of us are troubled with illness and with poverty. Others may have contention in the family or no family at all. Yet we can invite the Light of Christ to shine on us and let us see and feel some of the promised joys that lie before us.

"For instance, as we gather in that heavenly home, we will be surrounded by those who have been forgiven of all sin and who have forgiven each other. We can taste some of that joy now, especially as we remember and celebrate the Savior’s gifts to us. He came into the world to be the Lamb of God, to pay the price of all of the sins of His Father’s children in mortality so that all might be forgiven. In the Christmas season we feel a greater desire to remember and ponder the Savior’s words. He warned us that we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive others (see Matthew 6:14–15). That is often hard to do, so you will need to pray for help. This help to forgive will come most often when you are allowed to see that you have given as much or more hurt than you have received.

"When you act on that answer to your prayer for strength to forgive, you will feel a burden lifted from your shoulders. Carrying a grudge is a heavy burden. As you forgive, you will feel the joy of being forgiven. At this Christmastime you can give and receive the gift of forgiveness. The feeling of happiness that will come will be a glimpse of what we can feel at home together in the eternal home for which we yearn." (Ensign, December 2009).

Forgiveness is precisely what Christmas is about. 2000 years ago a baby was born in humble circumstances. His birth came without much earthly adulation but the heavens were resplendent with signs and wonders for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Angels appeared to shepherds, wise men followed a gleaming star, and the righteous and wicked alike went without night in the New World. That tiny baby was the Son of God, God Himself - the creator and Lord of heaven and earth. The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Isaiah, Moses, Nephi, Alma, and everyone else. He who showed his spirit body to the brother of Jared now had a body of flesh. Christ the Conquering King was yet the Babe in Bethlehem. There is little we know about His early life; we do know Jesus grew up in Nazareth - Bethlehem was merely the city of His birth. He was visited by wise men some time in his first few years of life. He grew up learning from Joseph and Mary. At age 12 He spent time teaching the priests in the temple - they marveled at His knowledge. How did a 12 year old boy know so much? At age 30 Jesus started His ministry full-time. Over the next three years He lived without a home, spending most of His time walking the dusty roads of Galilee and Jerusalem. He called men to be apostles. He taught, healed, and performed other miracles - the greatest were in forgiving sin. Jesus then instituted the sacrament, atoned for all the sins, sicknesses, and pain of humankind, stood trial, and died upon the cross. But that was not the end! On the 3rd day Jesus rose from the dead, bringing everlasting life to all people. He rose triumphant from the grave, victorious over death and hell.