Re-gift the gift of Christmas

From the desk of Shawn Rhoads, Director of Campus Ministry:

Admit it. You’ve re-gifted. We all have. It goes like this: “Oh, I love it. Thank you so much. It’s just what I wanted.”

Then we look at our existing Christmas list and think, “I bet Aunt Tilly would love this Latvian fruit cake I just received.” Next, we carefully remove the little card that is hanging from the rope handle of the gift bag (that is an important step), replace it with one personalized to Aunt Tilly, and voila, you’ve just re-gifted.

No need to feel guilty. Aunt Tilly was blessed to give it to you.

So maybe it’s not the best form to re-gift, at least not when it comes to sweaters, ties and Latvian fruit cake. But there is a gift that is always appropriate to re-gift, and that is the gift of Christmas.

God has given us a gift beyond understanding, and at an immeasurably high cost to Himself – the gift of being spiritually clean at the cost of His Son’s life. This is the gift you can receive, give away, and yet still keep it for yourself.

It goes like this. “Hey, let me tell you what God has done for me.” Then you simply describe your life before you knew Christ. Explain how you came to know Christ. And then tell about how your life has changed since trusting Christ. Voila! You just re-gifted.

No need to be a theologian. No need to win an argument. No uncomfortable dialogue. Just tell the story God has told in your life.

Go ahead. Re-gift the gift of the Christmas message. It’s the best gift anyone could receive or re-give. Merry Christmas and God bless you all, from Brook Hill.