As I stood in the line at the post-office the other day and I watched people shove their wrapped packages into boxes to be mailed I thought of how much I like wrapping presents. I also thought of how fun it is to watch others unwrap the gifts I have given them. And then I thought of the most amazing gift that was ever wrapped...and unwrapped, just for us.
Of course that gift given to us is Jesus Christ, "she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped Him in waddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn" (
Luke 2:7). This is a priceless gift. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (
Isaiah 9:6;
2 Nephi 19:6). What an incredible gift, to receive the Savior of the world, wrapped just for us through one who "hast found favour with God" (
Luke 1:30).
The word Christmas was originally from Christ's mass, "meaning the holy mass" (
Wikipedia, Christmas Etymoloy). It was pointing to the death of Jesus Christ. In understanding the "plan of redemption" (
Guide to the Scriptures) we know that the death of Christ wasn't the end, but the beginning of immortality for all mankind. It is a wonderful blessing to be able to realize that when Jesus Christ was "wrapped...in... linen, and laid...in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock"(
Mark 15:46) He was not there permanently, but after three days would be unwrapped and "He shall rise again" (
Mark 10:34), and He did rise again. "He lives" (
D&C 76:22)! "Christ Jesus hath made [us] free from the law of sin and death" (
Romans 8:2). What an incredible gift to unwrap, Jesus Christ died and is risen again so that we too may live again and are not bound by the chains of death and hell (see
Alma 5:7;
D&C 138:23).
The challenge for us is to receive the Gift of Christ in our lives daily, not just at Christmas time, or even just on Sundays, but every day. How do we actually unwrap this priceless gift that was given because "He first loved us" (
1 John 4:19)? How can we unwrap Christ into our lives? There are the pad answers of serve others (see
Mosiah 2:17), keep the commandments (see
John 15:10), "pray always" (
D&C 5:10) and many others which all definitely unwrap Christ immediately into our lives. But there is one that I realized we may do unconsciously at times. This is comparing ourselves, for good or ill to others, such as, "I am not as bad as so and so". When we are doing this we have just unwrapped someone else's gift and short changed ourselves from unwrapping the real gift Christ has to offer us. The gift of a better us, not a better them because we can only change ourselves. If we can first see the "beam that is in thine own eye" (
Luke 6:42) then we will be able to unwrap the true gift that is really there just waiting to shine forth. "The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single [to the glory of God], thy whole body shall be full of light" (
3 Nephi 13:22;
Matthew 6:22; see also
D&C 88:67). Light that comes from Christ! As we look to cleanse the inward first (see
Alma 60:23) and not compare ourselves to others, for good or ill, we will see those things, or "beams" (
Luke 6:42) that need to be changed. They will be changed as we unwrap Christ in our life and use His gift of the atonement and repent and allow Him to heal us and change us and make them into beams of light rather than beams of burden.
Christ was "wrapped...in swaddling clothes" (
Luke 2:7) and unwrapped the bandages of death for "He is risen" (
Matthew 28:6). We can unwrap Him every day in our lives as we repent and receive His gift of "mercy and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified" (
Mosiah 4:2). This I testify is what Christ gives to us for Christmas and everyday all year long. We just need to unwrap it.
