God’s gifts come in multiples. Even though one particular star is really important to us, a clear night reveals God made too many to count. Who really knows what’s orbiting the other ones? A good tree doesn’t produce just one piece of fruit. It produces many. And Jesus said if it doesn’t produce much fruit, it should be cut down and thrown into the fire. I challenge you to go on a holy scavenger hunt and come up with something God made that is just one of a kind. Even things like people and potatoes that are unique in some way are not singular.

Except Jesus. He was the only begotten. He had to be. There couldn’t be multiple saviors. There couldn’t be variations of God’s redemptive theme. God only conceived of one way to save all the different kinds of people he dearly loves. There is only one truth and one life. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9).

Here is another challenge for you. Read through the gospel of John and the epistles of John. Get a marker out and underline every passage that refers to the “onlyness” of Jesus. Then pay very close attention to what that singular gift means for you and me. Because Jesus was the only begotten, we are the many sons and daughters of the living God.