I am team preaching with Scott on Christmas Day, and have been kicking around some thoughts on the message. Here is where the Spirit has led me the last several days:
The best Christmas gift I ever received? That’s a tough one… I mean in a “gift” (tangible) sense, it’s a tough one to consider. Of course, my wife and my kids would be the answer in a general sense. But a real gift…and not counting the awesome homemade gifts my kids have given me over the years, that's something to think about. Well then, there is certainly the year that the power went out in 1982 for Christmas, and everybody played the Parcheesi game I got by the light of the fireplace. And then there is the Christmas in 1978 when I was 5 and we went to Italy, and I got to sing “Nasciu u Bambineddu” (Little Baby Jesus is Born) in church. That was cool. But my favorite gift has to be my Ipod Touch that I got last year. That thing is always on me…and I love it.
But let’s get real here. These gifts pale in comparison, as do all gifts, to the greatest gift of all- Jesus Christ. The one gift, the one birth, that is the reason we celebrate this time each year (regardless of how commercialized it has become). No Jesus would mean, no Christmas. So let’s really consider what the greatest gift is.
The Apostle John tells us in the famous John 3:16 verse, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Thank you Father, thank you God for a truly wonderful gift. Could you think of a better gift? Could you imagine loving someone so much that you would give them your son or daughter? It is unimaginable. It is inconceivable. And yet, it is true. God gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, as a gift to us because he loves us.
How valuable is this gift? Well, besides promising eternal life to all those who confess and believe that Jesus is Lord, we have several other indications as to how “valuable” it actually is. In Ephesians 1 it tells us that Jesus Christ blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing. Every single one! Jesus held nothing back when he blessed us; He gives us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places! Why does he bless us so? Well, Paul tells us that Jesus did this, “…according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace.” (v5-6). Jesus adopted us, blessed us, and gave us an inheritance-a gift of inestimable worth-because it makes Him happy. Sounds a lot like the reason we give our children gifts at Christmas…because it makes them happy!
In the parable of the lost Coin in Luke 8, it talks about a woman that has 10 coins and loses one. Even though she still has 9 coins, she sweeps the house clean and does not rest until she finds it. And when she does find it, she celebrates with her friends and family that she found what had been lost. In the story, the lost coin represents a sinner, and Jesus is the person that finds us, saves us, and celebrates when we are found and saved. We are valuable to Jesus, because through Jesus and His gift we are worthy of salvation.
So you see, comparing the “regular” gifts we get at Christmas, or anything else that we have to the surpassing gift of Jesus Christ is really no comparison at all. Paul speaks correctly in Philippians 3:4-9 when he says the following (bold for effect by me):
“3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”
You see, Paul had it all: power, prestige, education, lineage, all really good worldly stuff. And yet he considered it all garbage when viewed through the lens of the surpassing WORTH of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord.
My prayer for all of you is that you know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, that you accept the gift that is freely given, and let your heart unwrap the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ.
I pray blessings on all of you this Christmas. May the Lord bless you all richly and may you enjoy the time you have with your family and friends.
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