When my youngest son, Joseph, was 17, he wrapped Christmas gifts and placed one under the tree for me. It was wrapped in camouflage gift wrap with matching duct tape. He even made sure that he used a gift tag with a deer on it. Pure boy!

What I love more than anything is that he signed his nickname "JT", which he claims not to like. He even told us when he was younger not to call him that, because his real nickname was Camaro. We humoured him and called him Camaro for a little while, but it never really stuck. He really is pure boy.

When we received each of our three boys, God made sure that we'd have no idea what He'd wrapped up and given to us in the form of a little boy, each one special in his own way.

Even though Joseph wrapped the Christmas gift in camouflage, wrote my name on it, and placed it under the tree, the giver is truly the gift to me.

I had no idea what the camouflage gift box contained. He made sure of that. I thought that it was a cardboard box that he'd saved and placed the gift inside to disguise the true present. He didn't want me guessing if it might be the bottle of perfume that I'd hinted would make a good gift for dear ol' mom.

But when I opened the gift on Christmas Eve, it wasn't what I'd thought at all. It wasn't even something that I'd told him I wanted. It was something that he wanted to give me — a kitchen appliance — a more expensive gift, and something that I needed.

So many years ago, the world also waited to receive the gift of a Boy. Only this present could never be bought. This baby Boy wrapped in swaddling cloths was actually God wrapped in human flesh, Who came to save us — a gift more expensive than we imagined and not exactly what we expected, but something that we needed.

God came — camouflaged in human flesh — fully God and fully man. The gift giver is also the gift.

We can become so busy amidst the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season that we might forget the wonder of it all. How incredible it is that God would give us such a gift. He made a way for us to be in a right relationship with Him again through His beloved Son.

Through Him we receive many wonderful things:

• Forgiveness of sins
• Grace and mercy
• Eternal life in heaven

This Christmas, seek Him, like the wise men and shepherds did so long ago, and find Him. There's a gift with your name on it, wrapped in camouflage, waiting for you to discover what's really inside: Jesus — the gift of a boy.

Matthew 1:21 – She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (NIV)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You so much for the precious gift of Your Son. Thank You for sending Him and for making a way for us to be in a right relationship with You through Him. In His powerful name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Melinda Eye Cooper <melindaeyecooperwrites@gmail.com>
Cottontown, Tennessee, USA
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