20th Century Humorist, Kin Hubbard, said, “Next to a circus there ain’t nothing that packs out and tears out faster than the Christmas Spirit.” Before we get too far away from Christmas, let’s see what people who experienced the very first Christmas did after Jesus’ birth. If we’re like them we will make the most out of every day God gives us, even after Christmas.

On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, many of you will give and receive gifts. What makes a Christmas gift a great gift? There are five qualities of a great gift, some of which are reflected in the gifts that we get for the people we love and receive from the people we love. Jesus is the best gift because he is exactly what we most need.

When you hear the phrase “Socks and Underwear” around Christmas time, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For most it is probably not a gift that we would have put on our wish list. However, it is a gift that we all need, even if we don’t get too excited about it. In Jesus Christ, God gave us exactly what we needed: the right to be called God’s children.

Christmas is the celebration of the greatest gift: for God so loved the world that he gave his only son. But, how would that gift be received? Many of us know what it is like to open a gift and discover is it something that you don’t need or want. That’s why 1 in 3 of us will be returning at least one gift after Christmas. Jesus, began fully God, laid aside his crown and the privileges of being God, and came to this earth in the flesh. But not everyone received him.

There are some gifts that everyone needs but no one gets too excited about. Before the gift is opened, your expectations are high, but once you take off the wrapping your excitement turns to disappointment. Instead of the gift that you had been hoping for, you find socks and underwear—a gift that you really need, but it is not the one you were hoping for. This is true of the first Christmas, because Jesus is the gift that everyone needs, but He wasn’t the gift that everyone wanted.

The questions of identity, belonging, and purpose are all grounded in the most important question you will ever answer. In fact, the answer to this one question affects all the questions of your life. Get this one right, and you’re well on your way to understanding who you are, where you fit in, and what your purpose is. You can only avoid this question for so long. Eventually everyone has to answer it. Wait too long, and the consequences of your answer are unalterable and eternal.

If you don’t know your core identity, your purpose will be determined by whatever group you’re in, leading to a crisis of meaning as you puzzle out your life’s purpose. But when your core identity in Christ is clear, you’ll know where you fit and have a clearer sense of purpose. Instead of life feeling futile and meaningless, you gain a sense of purpose in a world in which you are surrounded by people who don’t know theirs.

American Christianity has become the most first-person, hyper-individualized version of that faith’s history! Our language reveals how much this is the case: Jesus died for me. I accept him as my personal Savior. But as much as we long to feel others’ acceptance and fit in with a group, we struggle to know how. It’s because we have forgotten that there is no such thing as a lone Christian. The Christians’ story is one of we, not me.

Each of us have multiple identities that we develop. Student. Parent. Husband. Wife. Father. Child. Activist. Employer. Employee. The question of identity deals with the most intimate topic of all: self. Who am I? Really? Your core identity is the one that you will take into eternity. It is also the identity that you should spend the most time exploring and developing. The core identity of every follower of Jesus is: a child of God.

Being good enough isn’t good enough. For a God who requires perfection, nothing less than perfection will gain you entrance into His presence. Despite your efforts to be good enough, you need something more. You need Jesus.