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With Christmas near, many people are excited to exchange gifts with family and loved ones. Children are especially enthusiastic on Christmas morning as they open their presents under the tree, hoping they received everything they asked for. They could be getting the latest technological gadgets or fashionable clothes that represent current trends. According to Amazon, some of the "hottest" gifts for girls and boys this year include mini karaoke machines with a portable Bluetooth speaker and two wireless microphones, and Masterbee digital cameras that print instant photos. Many teens have the hip Apple AirPods Pro 3 Wireless Earbuds and Apple Watch Series 11 on their gift lists. Some adults are also into the latest tech gift fads, while others prefer personalized items such as jewelry or home decor. Friends who have bought me gifts know that I pretty much love all Ohio State gear and merchandise. While writing this column, I am sipping green tea with lemons from an insulated Buckeye mug and wrapped up in a scarlet-and-grey blanket, two items given to me in a church gift exchange a few years ago.

As we are all looking forward to the presents we will be blessed to receive, let us also take some time to consider the actual reason for the season: God's gift of Jesus Christ, the "Christ" in Christmas. It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of shopping and preparing for the holidays that we don't pause long enough to reflect on Christ as the most precious and magnificent gift. In 2 Corinthians 9:15, the Apostle Paul praises God for Christ being the Father's "unspeakable gift," an offering that even the most brilliant words could not completely illustrate. Jesus also referred to Himself as "the gift of God" when addressing the Samaritan woman at the well. In their encounter recorded in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John, this woman is amazed that Jesus acknowledged her, given the age-old ethnic and religious discord between Jews and Samaritans at the time. After she asked Jesus why He wanted to receive a drink of water from her, His profound reply was, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." This living water symbolizes the sustenance of spiritual life through the salvation Christ provides, which embodies His grace, mercy, power and forgiveness, a perfect and divinely packaged gift.

In contemplating more about the gifts God has for me, I know I do not want to miss them by getting caught up in things that are temporal and not eternal. When I have become enamored of the momentary, it has often led to distress or to complaining about what I do not have, and through prayer, God has shown me that some things I really wanted would not have benefited me in the long run. By opening myself to receive God's gifts, I can then produce the nine spiritual fruits mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23, including love, joy, peace, faith and gentleness. Love never goes out of style. Joy is always overflowing. Faith far exceeds what is chic and cool, and gentleness always blesses and uplifts others. As we celebrate Christmas this year, I encourage you, as Jesus did with the Samaritan woman, to seek to know the gifts God wants to present to you. Seek to understand who Christ is. Many of the gifts we will receive will be attractive to us for a limited time, and there's nothing wrong with enjoying them. However, the gift of Christ is everlasting, and His abiding presence will continually strengthen and uphold us. We don't have to wait until Christmas to receive a gift from God. His giving lasts a lifetime.

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Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on X: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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