Each of us seems to be born thirsty for the things we do not have. Advertisements catch our eye. New cars turn our heads. Can we ever reverse the trend?

True giving means giving to God with no expectation of return. It’s a mark of real faith, because though we are giving to a visible person or organization, we are doing it in a way that signals our mind and heart is surrendered to an invisible God.

Unless we view Bethlehem from the perspective of the cross, most of what we sing and celebrate at Christmas amounts to glorying in the cradle, not the cross.

Our hearts need to line up on this: everything, including all we are and have, is God’s. The question we ask is not, “How much of my money should I give?” but, “How much of God’s money should I keep?”

Linking the two natures together in one personality, housed in one unique body, the God man Jesus was born. No less deity, no less humanity, in one person, in one body, forever.

I always thought I spent my 24 hours per day pretty well—I took time for work, play, friends and family, and had enough left for rest. So of course just as I was feeling proud of my time-keeping abilities, I got a new job.

Just beneath the soft, newborn skin of this beautiful story is the flesh and bone of a theological truth that is older than creation: God planned to send a Saviour long before time began.