The Ultimate Gift: Christ at the Center of Christmas and Marriage

 


🎄 The Ultimate Gift: Christ at the Center of Christmas and Marriage

God’s Successful Marriage — Common Man Blog

Christmas is a season overflowing with lights, gifts, traditions, and joyful noise — yet beneath all of it lies a simple, profound truth: Christmas is not ultimately about what we give, but about Who was given to us.
Jesus Christ is God’s ultimate gift, the foundation of hope for our lives and the source of strength for our marriages.

When we recenter Christmas around Christ, we recenter our marriages around the One who holds all things together (Colossians 1:17). What a season to remember that our love for one another flows from His love for us.

🎁 Jesus—the Unspeakable Gift

Paul writes,

“Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.”
— 2 Corinthians 9:15

The word unspeakable (Greek: anekdiegetos) means indescribable, too wonderful to fully express. No wrapped gift, no tradition, no decoration can compare to what God did by sending His Son.

Why does this matter for marriage?

Because the way Christ gave Himself — willingly, sacrificially, joyfully — is the pattern for how husbands and wives are called to love each other.

“Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it.”
— Ephesians 5:25

Christmas reminds us that love is expressed in giving, not merely receiving; in sacrifice, not self-protection; in presence, not perfection.

🌟 Prophecy Fulfilled: The Gift God Always Intended

Long before the manger, Isaiah prophesied:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…
and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God.”
— Isaiah 9:6

Christ was not an afterthought — He was the gift God planned from eternity.

The same God who orchestrated the arrival of Christ is the God who brought you and your spouse together. Marriage itself is a gift designed to display His love (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:32).

When couples approach Christmas in unity, they reflect the unity and purpose that God revealed through the birth of Christ.

❤️ Re-Centering Your Marriage on Christ This Christmas

It’s easy for couples to drift into a Christmas season filled with stress, schedules, and distractions. But the story of Christ’s birth brings us back to the heart of love.

Here are simple ways couples can restore Christ-centered joy:

1. Make Worship the First Tradition

Before the gifts, before the meals — read Luke 2 together. Light a candle. Pray as a couple.
Cultivate an atmosphere of worship in your home.

2. Give Each Other the Gift of Grace

Christmas reveals the depth of God’s grace.
Extend that same grace toward each other:

  • When plans change

  • When budgets tighten

  • When emotions run high

Grace is free, but priceless.

3. Serve Together as Christ Served

Jesus came “not to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45).
Find one act of service you can do as a couple:

  • Bless a neighbor

  • Give to a family in need

  • Serve in church
    Service unites hearts like nothing else.

4. Protect Your Marriage From Holiday Busyness

Mary and Joseph were intentional in following God’s leading despite surrounding chaos.
You can choose:

  • Fewer commitments

  • More intentional connection

  • More spiritual focus

Presence matters more than pressure.

✨ Christ in Christmas = Christ in Your Marriage

Christmas is God declaring:
“I love you enough to come close.”

In marriage, that means:

  • Choosing closeness over distance

  • Choosing humility over pride

  • Choosing sacrifice over selfishness

  • Choosing forgiveness over grudges

As Dr. Timothy Keller writes in The Meaning of Marriage (2011), real love is “self-giving love modeled after Christ’s sacrificial love for His people.” Christmas is the season that reminds us where that model began — in a manger.

Max Lucado beautifully expresses this in Because of Bethlehem (2016):

“Because of Bethlehem, God with us is closer than we ever imagined.”

And Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writing from prison, said in God Is in the Manger (1943):

“God is near in the lowliness of the manger, near to the poor and needy, to the broken and the contrite.”

This is the gift your marriage needs most — the nearness of Christ.

🎄 A Christmas Prayer for Couples

“Lord, thank You for giving us the greatest gift — Jesus Christ.
Help us to honor You as we celebrate His birth.
Teach us to love one another with the same sacrificial love that You demonstrated.
Let our home reflect Your peace, Your unity, and Your joy.
May Christ be at the center of our hearts and our marriage this Christmas season.
Amen.”

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