Merry Christmas! As we reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago, we remember that He, God’s Son, was the most generous gift ever given. Our God is a generous God. And He freely gave His one and only Son so that those who would believe in Him might have eternal life (John 3:16).

Jesus really came as a baby. He really was a man that walked this earth for 33 years. And He really was God. He was, He is, and He’s yet to come. We can’t brush this aside. God sent His son to pay the price for our sins. And that, my friends, warrants a response. A generous heart responds in obedience.

James 1:22-24 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” This simple illustration is powerful. We can’t just call Jesus a good moral teacher. We can’t just leave him on the shelf to decide later. As we celebrate Christmas today, remembering Christ’s birth, we need to respond in obedience to our Lord and Savior.

C. S. Lewis said it well in his esteemed classic Mere Christianity, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” He came for a purpose. To save you. To redeem you. To sanctify you. Have you made that choice to follow Him? Have your loved ones?

Jesus came once about 2,000 years ago. The Bible tells us He’s going to come again to make all things new and to call home those who are His. So as you remember the birth of Jesus Christ this Christmas day, remember all He’s done for you. In your generosity, which flows from the Father, respond in obedience to His Son, who came, lived, suffered, died, and rose again.