Down Gilead Lane, Season 13 | Episode 16

PUTTING THE CHRISTMAS BACK IN HOPE

Season Description

Looking for more stories Down Gilead Lane? Need some faithful entertainment to listen to on a holiday road trip? Then join the Morrison family on these holiday special episodes!

Today’s Story

It’s Christmas once again – DOWN GILEAD LANE!  But Hope’s just not in the festive mood.  How could a six year old girl NOT be interested in Christmas?  Find out as the Morrisons attempt to put the Christmas back in Hope! The whole family comes together to show her that love and gifts have nothing to do with being deserved.

 

How about you…

Have you ever felt like you’re not “good enough” for someone’s love, or the demonstrations of their love?  Have you ever found yourself saying something like, “oh, that’s too nice, I can’t accept that, please take it back.”?

 

Check this out…

In his famous letter to the Christians living in Rome, the apostle Paul had a lot to say about gifts.  But his excitement over gifts wasn’t because he was excited to open presents like we all get at Christmas, and it wasn’t because his birthday was around the corner.  No, Paul got so jazzed up over talking about “the gift”, because he was comparing the old way—which was all about debt, paying what was owed, and justice; with the new way—which was all about... well, take a look at these exciting verses from chapter 5:

 

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

See how many times he uses the word, “gift” in there?  Are you able to appreciate why Paul got so excited about this gift?  To sum up what Paul’s getting at here, check out this simple verse from the next chapter:

 

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Sin and the law are all about what we owe, or what we deserve.  But, Jesus has come to bring us a gift!  And gifts are free, they are NOT about owing and deserving—and THIS one is the difference between death and eternal life!