Merry Christmas to you and those you love! How much did it cost you this year? Do you know? Or, maybe you’re one of those “last-minute” shoppers who won’t know til the credit card bill comes.

By the time you read this, the packages may have been opened, and the celebration may have been completed. I hope you will look back on this Christmas with warm memories of the good times you spent with family and friends.

Cecelia and I had a wonderful celebration earlier this month with our two adult children, their spouses, and the four beautiful grandchildren! We are all healthy, and had a great time around the dinner table, laughing, and enjoying being together as a family. This is one of my favorite and most memorable times of the year, something I eagerly look forward to as autumn gives way to winter. Much of the reason I appreciate Christmas so much relates to the question I used for the title of this blog: How Much Did It Cost?

Don’t misunderstand where I’m going with this. I’m not concerned about the cost of gifts I gave others or what they paid for a gift I received. The reason I enjoy Christmas so much is because of the price God paid to make it happen. So, let me shift the focus to the serious business of the cost of Christmas from heaven’s perspective.

So, let’s look at this holy day from heaven’s vantage point. This requires shifting gears from the commercial side of Christmas and focusing on what this holiday (holy day) is really about. What did Christmas cost God?”

 Advent is the recognition of the single greatest event in human history, the moment when God became incarnate and entered into the world to address our sin, the greatest need of human existence. Jesus, God in human form, came to bring us into the very presence of and fellowship with God through the forgiveness he provides through his death and resurrection.

Have you ever considered what a costly thing this was for God to forgive you? Think about it this way.

Have you ever forgiven someone? If so, you know you paid a price to do that. Forgiveness always involves suffering on the part of the one who forgives.  It means to take upon yourself the hurt imposed by another. As a parent, spouse, or friend, you have likely suffered at the hands of those you love.

Forgiving those who hurt you is a costly thing. You have to endure pain if you forgive someone. You take that pain within yourself without holding the other person accountable or seeking revenge. 

Now consider how this relates to the Advent Season. Christmas is about the cost God is willing to pay, what he is willing to suffer to restore a broken fellowship, to save us from ourselves and the wreck sin will make of our lives.

Our sin brought Jesus into the world, and our sin put him on the cross because God loves us so much that he was and is willing to give his only begotten son so that we can be forgiven.

Does this help you understand how much you are worth to God, and how much he loves you? 

While we enjoy the trappings of Christmas and being with those we love, let’s remember that Christmas is really about the cost of forgiveness. 

When was the last time you allowed yourself to consider the price Jesus paid to save you from the power and penalty of your sin? Jesus came into the world for you; to live, suffer, die, and be raised from the dead for you. 

   

It’s easy to forget how blessed we are. We can be distracted from what’s really important and take for granted how good God is to us, that He paid a great price to save us.

Have you lost the sense of wonder and awe you had when you first came to faith in Jesus? Reflect on what Christmas cost God and what that says about you.

Merry Christmas to you and to all those you hold dear in your heart.