The Christmas season is upon us
once again! The year flies by at warp
speed and suddenly, it’s December.
Although I’ve already been bombarded by Christmas ads, emails, and
commercials since November, now things really ramp up to full court press proportions
as these various means of advertisements work desperately to convince me that
it’s time to buy the perfect Christmas gift.
I can’t hide from the drumbeat. Jared,
Zales, Kay and other jewelry stores try to persuade me that the only way I can
truly express my utmost love and deep affection for my wife is to purchase a
$1400 to $5000 ring, pendant, or whatnot for her. Audi, Lexus, Jaguar, and other high end cars
entice me to plunk down $375 to $750 for a monthly lease on a vehicle that will
make me and my family stylish and hip. Wal-Mart,
Target, Toys R Us, any cell phone company says
my family needs the latest electronic gadget and the best toys. Larry insists I need a new mattress,
furniture stores advise me I need to replace my furniture, perfume commercials
try to … hmmm, actually, I’m not sure what
perfume commercials are trying to tell me other than sex sells (if anyone can
interpret any of those perfume commercials, I’d like to hear it J).
Anyway, you get the picture. The goal for all of these businesses is to
convince me that they have the perfect Christmas gift for me and my family; the
more expensive the better. I’ll be broke
and the real reason for celebrating Christmas will be buried somewhere in the
middle of all wrapping paper, but who cares because my family will have the
perfect gifts and we’ll all be happy. I’m
sure you’ve heard this all before in some form or another.
Elder Bowman and Elder Sheppard
came to our home recently and showed us a new video the Church has produced
called "He Is the Gift". This Christmas
video reminds me that Jesus Christ was and is the first gift of Christmas, offered
to us by our loving Heavenly Father. Jesus
Christ truly is the perfect Christmas gift and He purchased
us through His amazing atoning sacrifice (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)! Christmas presents eventually break, wear
out, and fade away, but the gift of Christ will always be new, fresh, and
wonderful. The happiness we receive from
Him will be eternal, not fleeting. I am
grateful for Him, for His love; for His mercy; and for the blessings that come
into my life because of His sacrifice.
Do not forget the first and true gift of Christmas. I hope your celebration is a happy and
blessed one.