Excerpt

One of the most universal symbols associated with Christmas is gifts—we carefully consider exactly what each should be, wandering through store aisles, wrapping each in brightly colored papers and bows, tucking each beneath the boughs of the evergreen tree in eager anticipation of that breathtaking morning. With each gift, we give a piece of ourselves to a beloved recipient—a piece that speaks volumes of our appreciation and adoration.

Among the gifts you give this year, please consider a gift of yourself to the One who has given you everything. Every day, not just at this Christmas season, you are an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus. And every day, starting with this Christmas season, you can give Him a gift—not one swathed in wrapping and tinsel, but one that lets Him know that in your heart, there will always be room.

Think first of what He has done for you. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland put it beautifully when he said of Christ, “The ‘good news’ was that death and hell could be escaped, that mistakes and sins could be overcome, that there was hope, that there was help, that the insoluble was solved, that the enemy had been conquered. The good news was that everyone’s tomb could one day be empty, that everyone’s soul could again be pure, that every child of God could again return to the Father who gave them life.” 

Ours is a debt almost too great to fathom, yet He asks so little of us in return. So this Christmas, start by thinking of something you can do throughout the next year for Him—He who continues to give all to you. This Christmas, set apart a special gift for Him so that you can become a special gift for Him.

The pages that follow contain suggestions from which you can choose. There are others that may also occur to you; search your heart until you find exactly what you want to give. Then write your gift on a card and tuck it away. Periodically throughout the year, read what you have written to remind yourself of what you agreed to offer—to make sure that now, and always, there is room for Him in your heart, that your discipleship continues to demonstrate your love for the Savior whose birth we celebrate.

 Praise