Extravagance

I have to confess: I like looking at extravagant Christmas gifts. Not out of any desire to give or receive them. I just like to marvel at what's available.

Some of them are amazingly expensive. Like the Ferrari FF listed at Neiman Marcus; it can be yours for only $390,000. You may want to hurry. They only have 10 available.

For mom, Amazon lists a black pearl necklace for a mere 76,500 dollars. Don't worry… the item ships for free.

Another option is a gift card from Halcyon jets. A $5 million gift card! Actually, it's called a Dream Card, and it gives you full access to their complete fleet of jets, as well as a private aviation specialist and a personal concierge.

For the truly discriminating, might I suggest you consider purchasing an island? You can get a lovely 20-acre island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro for a mere $8 million. Sorry… only one per customer.

Most of us won't be spending quite as much on Christmas gifts, though many will spend more than they should. There's something about the Christmas season that makes us want to give gifts in a big way.

However, we know that the greatest gift has already been given. No one can match the extravagance of our Heavenly Father, who gave us what the apostle Paul calls an "indescribable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15). God gave us His own Son, not as a Christmas gift, but as the gift that never stops giving. God's Son, Jesus, came and died, to give us all the right to claim the gift of eternal life.

The apostle John famously wrote, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16–17).

In this season of giving and receiving, let's take time to remember the greatest gift of all: God's Son. And let's make sure that we've claimed the gift He offers each of us: the gift of eternal life.

Want to know more about God's gift that keeps on giving? Write to me at tarcher@heraldoftruth.org or visit our www.hopeforlife.org website.