What do you do if you do not like your Christmas gift?

If you got a gift this holiday season that wasn’t quite right, you may be looking to return it. Here’s some advice to help make the process go more smoothly. Gather receipts. Returning or exchanging an item in-store often requires documentation, and maybe an ID. Take the item, receipt, and original packaging to the store. No receipt? Expect a store credit, often for the lowest sales price.

How often does anyone include a sales receipt with a Christmas gift? It seems rather rude to ask the giver where they bought the item which hints at your dislike of the gift you received.

Check out store policies. Return and exchange policies vary by store, and many stores won’t take returns or exchanges after a certain time — like 30 or 90 days. Policies and deadlines are often printed on the back of receipts. Don’t delay in returning your undamaged item to have the best chance for a refund, exchange, or store credit. 

Isaiah 59:14 Judgment and Redemption

Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.

There was no return here, it was inevitable that I would speak to a gift given that cannot be given back, nor exchanged.

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

We cannot give Him back His blood nor replace it with our own. While we may have that kind of relationship with those who have given us a Christmas gift that does not satisfy us, they are not the Lord who gave His life for us.

Unlike Christmas gifts His gift is not wrapped in a cloud of mystery. We have to look that gift squarely in the face and choose to accept it or reject it. There is no return policy. If we take it, we are stuck with it, even if we don’t know how to use it.

Lucky us, His gift of salvation comes with a complete users manual. Are you one of those who can put things together without a manual? How many times did you put something together and then discover there were parts leftover that you have no idea where they should go?

Check the parts list and make sure you have everything needed. First check out the picture on the box to see what it is supposed to look like when you are finished. It helps to know what you are making. What does Holy look like anyway?

Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

Here’s your sign.

Genesis 3:10-12 English Standard Version

10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

Let me explain further. We were all born naked and afraid. Our mothers covered for us. Swaddling clothes are a symbol of parental love and protection. In this world we need to be covered by love and concern because the world is a dangerous place.

An angel told the shepherds where to go and find the Messiah. Who told them about the Messiah? Now in this day and age so many years after His birth we tend to forget that we are all naked and afraid in the eyes of God who just wants to love and protect us.

God is saying to me, “Go and tell them where they can find the Messiah. Cover them with love and compassion. Tell them they are naked and afraid.”

Now comes the hard part. Just as Adam made excuses we make excuses for not admitting that we are weak, vulnerable, and afraid. We have come out from under the protective covering provided by our parents and grown up to fend for ourselves. We have forgotten what it felt like to be naked and afraid. Now all the bad in this world is someone else’s fault.

If you have not accepted the free gift of grace this Christmas, the swaddling clothes that covers our nakedness and fears, then no matter how much you protest, you are naked and afraid in the eyes of God.

You can refuse to believe that, but the one thing you cannot say after today is that no one told you that you were naked and afraid.

He who was is and maybe that is your excuse. You don’t believe in Santa any more so why should you believe there is a Savior sent to cover your sins. You are not a child.

Matthew 19:14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”