{"id":66609,"date":"2026-04-20T16:04:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?post_type=sermon-illustrations&p=66609"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:04:22","slug":"ny-times-readers-on-the-greatest-gift-they-ever-received","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/ny-times-readers-on-the-greatest-gift-they-ever-received\/","title":{"rendered":"NY Times Readers on The Greatest Gift They Ever Received"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The New York Times<\/em> asked hundreds of readers to describe the best gifts they had ever received. Not the most expensive gifts. Not the flashiest. The most meaningful. The answers sounded the same: the best gifts weren\u2019t things at all. They were acts of attention, sacrifice, and love that made someone feel truly seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One woman told of a Christmas when her husband was deployed overseas. Overwhelmed with young children, she mentioned\u2014almost offhandedly\u2014that she didn\u2019t know how she\u2019d manage to get a Christmas tree. Weeks later, a friend showed up at her door carrying a fully decorated tree. He had listened. He had remembered. And he had acted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another reader described her father\u2019s graduation gift to her: he quit smoking after forty years. No wrapping paper. No receipt. Just a costly, lifelong sacrifice so his family could have more years together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another spoke of a husband who gave a simple stapler\u2014not because it was impressive, but because he noticed the daily inconvenience his wife endured and quietly removed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And one father recorded himself reading children\u2019s books, so his voice could still be heard one day when he was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of them point to the same truth: the greatest gifts are not bought; they are given. They cost the giver something. And they change life long after the moment of exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best gifts say, I came for you. This is why Jesus is the greatest gift God has ever given to the world. God did not send an idea, a rulebook, or a distant solution. He sent himself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3451,3497,3600,3718,3738,4231],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-66609","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-atonement","tax_ctp_tags-birth-of-christ","tax_ctp_tags-christmas","tax_ctp_tags-cross","tax_ctp_tags-death-of-christ","tax_ctp_tags-incarnation"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nNY Times Readers on The Greatest Gift They Ever Received - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/ny-times-readers-on-the-greatest-gift-they-ever-received\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NY Times Readers on The Greatest Gift They Ever Received - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Times asked hundreds of readers to describe the best gifts they had ever received. 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