Today most of you are probably doing some shopping either at the busy stores or online hoping your orders will arrive on time for Christmas. Some of you may already be done and enjoying family that arrived from various places. The busyness of Christmas often overshadows the reason behind the true meaning of the season. Every year you may say, “next year it will be less hectic, I’ll prepare with more time, or I won’t buy as many gifts…” But each year it seems we spend more money and the stress of the season continues unchanged.

I was talking with some friends at lunch yesterday about how difficult it is to buy gifts for some family members and even the little kids in the family because we truly don’t know what they want or need. The truth is, here in America, most people don’t need anything material, like more toys to play with. Most of the time, people make a list of what they want—their wish list. But true need? Only a few people have real need for material gifts.

However, there is a gift that we all need regardless of our material possessions, social status, or work success and that is forgiveness. Jesus gave us the gift of forgiveness that comes along with the gift of salvation and eternal life. Only Jesus can give us the last two but we can give other the gift of forgiveness. When we hold a grudge against others, we are the one who carry the extra burden with us. When we forgive, we let go of the extra weight and our load becomes lighter to carry.

This Christmas, if you hold a grudge in your heart against someone, it’s time to get rid of it. Give the other person the gift of forgiveness so you can move on with your own life.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and loved ones!