What Does God Want for Christmas?

My dear friends in Christ,

What do you want for Christmas? How many people have asked you that question so far? What’s on your list? Did you page through all the ads for the different toys on sale and circle them? Are you saving up for something special, and so you’re asking for money? Or did you go through your list of “things I need” and put some of them on your Christmas list? Have you ever wondered what God wants for Christmas? Peter’s words offer us a glimpse of his list. Let’s dig into these verses and find out what God wants for Christmas.

If you’re looking at someone’s Christmas list, sometimes you can tell who the person is from the items listed. For example, if the list has a cordless drill, a circular saw, and a laser level, whose list is it? Probably Dad’s! Peter tells us right off the bat whose list we’re looking at. He said, "Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear" (1 Peter 1:17). Whose list is this? God the Father. What do we know about the Father? The apostle Paul told the people of Athens, "From one man he made every nation of men … ‘We are his offspring.’" (Acts 17:26,28).

God is the Father of every human being because he made all of us. He also takes good care of us. He provides everything we need. "The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing" (Psalm 145:15-16). He protects us from everything that might hurt us. "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways" (Psalm 91:11). He watches over us constantly.

Now that we know whose list we’re looking at, let’s look again at the first thing on our Father’s list. Peter wrote, “Live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.” God wants us to recognize we are strangers living in a sinful world. We aren’t supposed to hold onto all the things we have around us. He wants us to make him the #1, most important part of our lives, and to treat him with the awe and respect he deserves. Peter reminded us how serious God’s standard of living is. "For it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’" (1 Peter 1:16). God expects each one of his children to live a perfectly as strangers in reverent fear!

Does God get what’s on his list? What does he see when he impartially judges our lives? God sees: “the empty way of life handed down from your forefathers” (1 Peter 1:18). God doesn’t get what he wants. He finds people who are born with sin—the sin Adam handed down to all generations. That’s why we sometimes call it “the Old Adam.” From the moment we are conceived, we fight against sin that comes from our parents. How many times has someone said, “You’re just like your Father”? How many times have you watched your child commit the same sins you struggle with yourself?

On top of all this, we struggle with a Christmas celebration that promotes the empty way of life. If someone had never experienced Christmas before and was suddenly exposed to our culture, how do you think they would describe it? Christmas is happy songs, snowflakes, and warm drinks around a roaring fire. Christmas is a shopping experience—rushing to beat everyone else so that I get the best deals. Christmas is all about making a list of what I want. It’s all about what I deserve! How empty is that? Can you still remember all the things you received for Christmas last year? I sat down this week and honestly tried to recall. I remembered maybe one thing. Last year I received a sweater for Christmas. I can’t remember any others! That’s the empty way of life we struggle with as we prepare for Christmas. Our lives are empty inside and out!

For Christmas, God wants people who live reverent, holy lives and honor him as their Father. Does he get the first thing on his list? Not one of us is able to give him what he wants!

Do we always get what we want on our Christmas list? Usually, instead of getting what we want, we get what’s better for us. I remember a Christmas, long, long ago, when I wanted one of the battery powered cars in the Sears catalog. I could see myself zooming around the neighborhood in that car, so I put it on my list. Guess what I got that Christmas? Slippers and pajamas. Not what I wanted, but it was exactly what I needed.

God knew he wouldn’t get what he asked for. He didn’t give up on us, so he got what he wanted by giving us something that wasn’t on our lists. Peter wrote, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

God wanted us back, but all the gold and silver in the world couldn’t pay for it. So, God set out to redeem us—to buy us back. He did it by sending the ultimate Christmas gift. When the shepherds came to the manger on Christmas morning, they found God’s gift. It came, wrapped not in shiny paper and ribbons, but in strips of cloth. It came, not resting on hand-knitted receiving blankets, but on a bed of hay. They found the baby—God’s Son. Peter doesn’t call him a baby. He said they found “a lamb without blemish or defect.” Jesus’ entire life was perfect, and had to be. He fulfilled the words John the Baptist shared with his disciples, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Jesus gave God what he wanted on his Christmas list—someone who lived as a stranger in this world with a reverent, holy life for his Father.

Jesus did it so he could buy us back. He loved us so much that he was willing to sacrifice himself in our place. On Good Friday, his precious blood stained the dusty, rocky soil of Calvary. Why? Peter says it in three words. “For your sake” (1 Peter 1:20). Can we grasp the meaning of those three simple words? “For your sake.” Why should God care? Why would he put us on his Christmas list and look for people who would live reverent, holy lives for him even though he knew we wouldn’t? Why would he look for people who would treasure the gift of his Son?

How does a farmer take care of his crops? He plants them, makes sure they’re growing well, keeps them free from pests and makes sure they have enough moisture. He doesn’t go out daily, walk down the rows of plants and check on each little kernel as it grows. “How are you today? Are you getting enough nutrition? Sunlight? Are the bugs leaving you alone?” He doesn’t treat each kernel individually. He takes care of the whole crop.

God could have treated us that way, but he doesn’t. From the moment we begin to grow inside our mothers, God is there tending to each of us. “How are you? Are you doing okay today? I’ll make sure you get enough nourishment. Need clothes, a job, help with your family? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you!” He goes from individual to individual calling us by name, caring for us, loving us, and even at the end of our lives, harvesting us. That’s the immensity of God’s love, all tied up in three small words: “for your sake”.