{"id":236,"date":"2007-12-24T13:40:59","date_gmt":"2007-12-24T03:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/sdo\/index.php\/2007\/12\/24\/why-do-we-get-all-the-gifts\/"},"modified":"2007-12-24T18:25:02","modified_gmt":"2007-12-24T08:25:02","slug":"why-do-we-get-all-the-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/2007\/12\/24\/why-do-we-get-all-the-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do we get all the gifts?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" vspace=\"10\" align=\"right\" width=\"179\" src=\"http:\/\/www.branchhome.com\/images\/large\/gift_wrap_LRG.jpg\" hspace=\"15\" alt=\"gift\" height=\"153\" style=\"width: 179px; height: 153px\" title=\"gift\" \/>A child once asked, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If Christmas is Jesus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 birthday, why do we get all the gifts?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d In the midst of the busyness of the season, many of us may have asked ourselves the same question. Are all the presents we receive and the gifts we exchange really a reflection of God?For God so loved the world that He gave\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 When we read those words, then it becomes clear that giving truly is at the heart of the reason we celebrate. Giving reflects God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s character and expresses His heart.<\/p>\n<p>But sometimes the true meaning does get lost. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re inviting you to be a part of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Share and Care\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Christmas challenge. When we share with those around us through giving unselfishly, we are an example of what God did for us when He sent Jesus. When we use giving to express our hearts, we show the world once again that love is the reason for Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>We can give a simple present. We can give a moment of our time. We can give a small kindness or a great sacrifice. What matters is not the size of the gift, but the meaning behind it. All gifts are ultimately a reflection of Jesus, who is <em>The Gift<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>God loved. God gave. God made a difference. We can too.<\/p>\n<p>This article is from the web site: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jesusisthegift.com\/index.asp\">Jesus is the gift<\/a><!-- End MainContent --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A child once asked, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If Christmas is Jesus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 birthday, why do we get all the gifts?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d In the midst of the busyness of the season, many of us may have asked ourselves the same question. Are all the presents we receive and the gifts we exchange really a reflection of God?For God so loved the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":307,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/307"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}