CHRISTMAS: THE GIFT THAT ASKS FOR OUR YES
Christmas is not merely the celebration of a birth — it is the celebration of God breaking into human history with grace before we could ever reach for Him. The world expected a warrior‑king, a political liberator, a Messiah who would overthrow empires. Instead, God came as a child who could be held, rejected, ignored, or embraced. A God who chose vulnerability over force, humility over spectacle, and invitation over compulsion.
Christmas reminds us that salvation begins with God, not with us. Before we could seek Him, He came seeking us. Before we could offer anything, He offered Himself. Before we could understand the cost of discipleship, He entered the world in poverty, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger meant for animals.
Grace always moves first.
But grace does not force itself on anyone.
It waits for a response.
Mary shows us the first and greatest response to grace:
“Let it be done to me according to Your word.”
(Luke 1:38)
Her yes was not passive.
It was courageous.
It was surrender.
It was the doorway through which salvation entered the world.
Christmas invites us to the same surrender.
Because salvation is not a formula of faith alone or works alone.
It is not a checklist of commandments or a tally of good deeds.
It is not earned, and it is not automatic.
Salvation is a relationship — a daily yes to God’s invitation.
The shepherds heard the message, but they also went.
The Magi saw the star, but they also journeyed.
Joseph had dreams, but he also obeyed.
Mary received grace, but she also surrendered.
Christmas is the union of God’s gift and our response.
It is the reminder that:
• Faith must become obedience
• Works must flow from love
• Grace must lead to surrender
• And discipleship must follow the Child who became our Savior
This season, we are invited to return to the simplicity of the manger — to lay down our pride, our attachments, our fears, and our illusions of control. To kneel before the One who came not to overwhelm us, but to transform us.
Christmas is God saying:
“Here I am. Will you follow Me?”
And the most authentic gift we can offer Him is the same gift Mary offered — the gift of our yes.
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Transition to tomorrows blog on Salvation
Christmas reveals the heart of salvation: God moves first. Grace enters the world before we can respond, before we can act, before we can even understand what is being offered. But the Child in the manger does not simply ask to be admired — He asks to be followed. The grace that begins at Christmas must lead to the surrender of discipleship. And this is where salvation becomes more than belief or good deeds; it becomes the daily “yes” that mirrors Mary’s own surrender. What begins in the manger must continue at the cross, and what begins with grace must end with obedience to God’s will.
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