Gifting grace: The essence of Christmas

The greatest gift any of us will receive today is one we’re blessed with every day.

It’s grace. Christmas is really about grace.

Today is about a savior child who offered us the greatest grace.

We tend to think of the giving as the difficult part of the give-get equation, whether it’s gifts or grace.

How much do I have to offer? How much will it hurt to give up? What’s in it for me? Must I?

But the getting, that can be difficult, too.

How many of us in just the past year, when our homes and possessions were ruined by catastrophe, when our loved ones were torn away by some tragic circumstance, have shied from asking for or receiving gifts of love and compassion?

A tough year has given us more than a lesson in helping our neighbors. We are learning to admit when we hurt, admit when we are in need. And we are learning to receive grace that is generously given.

That’s the thing about grace. By definition, it’s unmerited, a gift we haven’t earned and don’t deserve.

And it’s given freely, without hope of return, without expectation of effort.

Whatever we give or get on this day, we should remember to look back on the year that has passed and forward to the year ahead, remembering the great grace gifted to us all.