Estimated Reading Time 7 Minutes
Hey You! Welcome to The Vibrant Life Podcast. I’m Emily Romrell and it’s Christmas Eve! I hope you’re spending time with people you love and I feel honored that you are spending just a few minutes with me today. Time is one of the most valuable gifts anyone can offer, so thank you.
And today we are talking all about gifts. In honor of Christmas, I decided to just go through a rundown of some of the most meaningful gifts that we can receive. And I realize that not everyone listening to this podcast will be a Christian, and that’s ok. If you are in that group I wish you lots of love and good cheer as you celebrate life in your own way. But for me, the true joy in Christmas comes from a loving Savior, Jesus Christ. So I want to share a few of the gifts that are available to us through him:
An Example To Light The Way
The first gift that I want to talk about is the gift of light. Jesus Christ is the Light of The World and he is the ultimate example of how we should live our lives. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a tradition called Light The World. For the whole month of December, we are encouraged to shift our focus to the Savior and to engage in acts of service that help light up the world with his love. You might share the light of Christ with something as simple as a text message to a loved one letting them know you care. The church also sponsors giving machines. These are vending machines that allow you to support various causes from sending a family a sheep to providing medical aid or clothing. It’s really great. But you don’t have to stress if you can’t donate with money. The idea is to share the light of Christ with the world. I love it.
From the start in the Christmas Story, the Wise Men followed the star to Jesus. He was the way. You know a lot of Jews during the time of Christ were looking for a warrior to come to battle and free them from the tyranny of the Romans. But Jesus had a better way. He showed by example that the real way to freedom is through love, understanding, and kindness.
I’m a 90’s kid and when I was growing up, it was extremely popular to wear bracelets or t-shirts with the acronym W.W.J.D. that stands for What Would Jesus Do? It was awesome and even though I know that idea is still around I think some of the magic has been lost. But the idea is that when you have choices to make throughout your day you ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?”. And by considering that you are much more likely to be more patient, kind, and loving.
That’s a pretty amazing gift, right? An example to emulate that shows us the way to become better and reach our fullest potential.
Jesus Is No Respecter Of Persons
I love this phrase in the scriptures describing the kind of person Jesus is. In Acts 10:34-35, it says: Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Think about the kinds of people spent time with. His apostles came from many different occupations including fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, a thief/embezzler, and a pharisee. We don’t what the story is for some of the lesser-known apostles but I imagine that they were diverse. Jesus spent most of his time with sinners and the sick. But he also had brilliant discussions with various scholars. He talked and walked with the hated Romans. He demonstrated extremely high esteem for women which in the day was unheard of. He encouraged friendship with Samaritans which were bitter enemies of the Jews. He even went among the lepers who were despised and feared perhaps more than any other group of people.
This is a lesson that is critical to take to heart these days. If Jesus loves everyone, from all places, whatever their past might be, then we need to do the same.
To me, it is such a gift to know that no matter what my background is, or what yours may be, we are all loved and appreciated by the Savior. And it is a gift to understand that whatever our story is, good or bad, Christ will take what we are and help us become who we are meant to be. He sees our special individual potential and he maximizes it.
We Are Instruments In His Hands
The third gift I want to talk about is how the Savior uses our unique talents to bless the lives of others. One of the purest joys in life is sharing what you love and what you are good at with people. And the miracle of the Master’s plan is that he makes a way for all of us to experience that joy if we so choose. I love how special we all are. Some of us are builders. Some of us are nurturers. Some of us are listeners. Some of us are encouragers. Some of us are visionaries. But we all come with gifts that God wants us to share with the world. And using those gifts brings great pleasure.
Another gift that comes from being an instrument in his hands, is that it allows us to shift our focus from our own struggles and experience the joy of serving others. There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a man named Alma who was a priest serving a wicked king. But when a prophet came and preached to the king and his advisors, Alma was converted to the gospel and was then able to teach and help hundreds of people. In Mosiah 23:10 Alma gives some insight on how he feels. He says, “Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth.” I think it’s a safe bet that Alma was naturally gifted as a spiritual leader and teacher, but initially, he was misguided in how to use those talents. But his prayers were answered when he was converted to Christ and was able to use his abilities to bless his people.
Another sort of bonus gift that goes along with this, is that others are frequently used as instruments in God’s hand to bless our lives. I personally have been overwhelmed by the goodness and love that I’ve been shown by various individuals in my life. And they might not always recognize it, but often their support and help come exactly when I need it. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I believe these beautiful people are gifts sent straight from heaven.
The Savior Knows Us Intimately
Probably the most well-known answer to what Jesus Christ has done for us is that he died for us. I really don’t have words for what this means to me, but death was only part of it. Because of the atonement which literally means at-one-ment, the Savior experienced everything that we have experienced or that we will ever experience. This means that he knows exactly how we feel when no one else does. He knows the secret anguish in our hearts that sometimes even try to hide from ourselves. He knows all of our physical aches and pains and he knows all of our emotional and mental pains.
But not only does he know us in our hardships but he also knows our happiness too. He understands what it means to love your pet. He knows how your soul feels when you see a beautiful sunset. He feels the same excitement you feel when you see an old friend after a long period of time. He has the same contentment that you do when a baby falls asleep on your shoulder.
This is such an amazing gift because even when no one else in the universe understands you, he does. And you don’t have to go to extraordinary lengths to explain yourself to him because he already knows. I think this is the biggest miracle of all. And because Jesus knows us so completely, we can develop a more personal relationship with him than with anyone else. We just have to be willing to open our hearts and let it happen.
He Makes Up The Difference
There is a second half to the gift of the atonement and that is the gift of repentance. It was part of the plan in this life that we would make mistakes. That is the only way to learn and grow. It’s imperative for us to understand how agency works and to know the good from the bad. But if we make mistakes, then we are imperfect and unfit to dwell with our Heavenly Father. That is where our Redeemer steps in. He makes up the difference. Because he is perfect and he was willing to pay the price for us to become perfect through him.
It doesn’t really matter how wide the gap is. We are all in different stages of development and our individual shortcomings may differ drastically. But that is inconsequential. Say you want to make a purchase of $1000. Whether you have ten dollars or a hundred dollars or nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars. All of those amounts are short of the price, and you would be unable to complete the purchase unless someone paid the rest. That’s what the Savior does for us. When we repent we can be forgiven and he makes all the difference. It’s the greatest gift of all.
These are only a few of the gifts offered to us by a loving Savior, Jesus Christ. There are so many more but this is a good beginning. In my heart, I know that Jesus Christ is our loving older brother who paved the way for us to become who we were meant to be. He is the reason for this Christmas season and I appreciate your consideration as I shared some of these personal feelings with you. I know this episode was a lot more religious than usual.
I hope y’all have a very merry Christmas and I’ll see ya next week! Live The Vibrant Life.
