What do you really want for Christmas?

It's Christmas morning. The gifts are wrapped and under the tree. Soon everyone will gather, the paper will be ripped and balled and the gifts unveiled. Exciting. Fun. We like to give gifts to each other. We like to receive them, too!

But, when it's all over at the end of Christmas Day, will you get what you wanted? Will your deepest needs be satisfied? Or have you discovered, as many of us have, that the things we need most will never be found under the tree?

Do you know that Jesus wants us to tell him what we want? Once when he was walking to Jericho, a blind beggar called out to him. Jesus stopped and asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man could have asked for anything, but he asked for what we all might agree was the most logical thing: "Restore my sight". Jesus gave him exactly what he said he wanted. But, if he had asked, Jesus would have given him far more: eternal life, forgiveness, joy, peace, relationships, unconditional love, and his ongoing presence.

Maybe this Christmas Day, Jesus is asking each of us, What do you really want for Christmas? What will you ask him for? It's an important question. Ask big. Only he can give you the things you long for most - things you will never find under the tree.

"Come close. My heart is ready. Come close. My heart is here. Show me I'm longing for you. Draw near. All I ever wanted is found in you. Come close." (from song by The Hope Project)