“The Gift” • 12.21.14 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Christmas Service
Intro.
- I had always believed that Christmas gift
giving was tied to the three gifts offered to Joseph and Mary for Jesus by the
Magi.
- That might be our reference point, but gift
giving has not always been a part of Christmas traditions.
- In the early 1800s, Washington Irving wrote a
collection short stories called "Christmas." At about the same time,
Charles Dicken published his book "A Christmas Carol."
- These two books brought the idea of gift
giving into the forefront of American culture. I'm sure they could not have
known what a cultural trend they had begun!
- You might hear someone say this holiday
season, "It's just a simple gift." That is often the response offered
by the gift giver to the overwhelmed and thankful recipient, but it's not true!
- Often, the gift is handled immediately,
perhaps a foot or so in diameter, weighing only a few pounds. In seconds, it
becomes a part, maybe even a significant part, of a person's life
- The road leading to that moment was
predicated upon a series of decisions. How much could be spent? What would they
like? What do they need?
- There is even a percentage of people who
experience anxiety that must be overcome! Will they like it? Does it strike the
right tone?
- After the decision is made, the traditional
way to procure a gift has been to visit a nearby shopping center and brave the
mass of holiday crowds.
- Beyond the holiday traffic and the inevitable
fight for the final parking space, the noise and the sheer number of people
gathering into a given locality, is mind numbing!
- Gratefully, in today's tech saavy society,
with enough planning, our gifts can come to us and we can leave the malls to
the procrastinators! The reward of the internet goes to the early bird!
- Amazon alone, just one of a million online outlets,
reportedly shipped 13.7 million packages, representing 158 orders taken per
second, to 178 countries in 2010.[i] Imagine
today!
- All that energy expended for that single
moment in time, when the gift is handed to it's intended recipient, the
wrapping paper is thrown in every direction and the enjoyment begins.
- I want to suggest three basic elements,
perhaps even rules regarding gifts, that we must all agree upon before moving
on.
- First, a gift represents an investment of
time and money. It's safe to say that none of us knows exactly what that gift
cost the giver and it would be rude of us to ask.
- We look at it and may be able to assess the
value of the gift, but how much time went into thinking about it and then, how
much time did it take to physically receive it?
- There might have been tremendous difficulties
and stresses involved! One thing we do know, is that there was a purchase and
that required money!
- The American Research group reports that the
average family planned to spend $861 this year on Christmas. Just for
perspective, in 1985, the average family spent $289! [ii]
- Don't worry though! 49% of those polled
reported that they waited for sales. The other 51% percent are either lying or
"re-gifting!"
- Now the appreciation, the gratitude, for any
given gift, I pray, will be heightened. Special gifts, ones that meet
expectation or ones that are exceptional gifts will produce even greater
applause.
- This leads me to my second reflection upon
gifts. This, I hope will clear up a good amount of confusion, but gifts cannot
be given to oneself!
- That's right! Gifts can only be given to
another person, otherwise, you enter another category.
- You hear people talking about rewarding
themselves for a "job well done," especially tasks which carry a
negative or at the least, not so pleasant experiences.
- "I figured that I'd give myself a
gift!" Wrong! You may purchase some thing that delights you. You may
reward yourself for something that you have done. But you cannot give you a
gift!
- A gift is that which is given to another
person. That's how the Norsemen used it in the 13th century. Later, the Germans
used it to speak of a dowry, something gifted to another.[iii]
- My third principle involves the proper
response to a gift. I don't refer to the gratitude and joy at the sight of of a
gift, both of which are proper emotional responses.
- I mean simply that a gift can only be
received. It can only be possessed and enjoyed by a person when that person
acknowledges the gift and takes it into their hands.
- Nobody in their right mind, looks at a gift
and then pulls out their wallet or credit card in response. "How much do I
owe you?" Could you imagine the confusion that would create?
- To do so would be improper and even provide
an insult to the one giving the gift.
- I offer these points for your consideration
and now, seek to point you to a very poignant statement uttered by a man named
Paul, written over 2000 years ago. Perhaps you've heard this.
Text
• Romans
6:23 : "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord." : To
paraphrase what Paul has said just before this, I offer this statement: You've
spent a lot of time doing wrong things which have led to your earning
punishment!
- Paul has made a strong case for the
sinfulness of mankind. Sin, being a term borrowed from the world of archery, was
employed when a person missed the mark on the target. "Sin!"
- He tells his readers earlier in the letter
that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God! (Romans 3:23) Everyone. Every person
that has ever lived!
- How have I sinned? Paul argues that humanity
has sinned by ignoring our creator God, hoisting up images or idols to replace
Him, some of which we have actually named "god!"
- We have sinned by skeptically looking for any
other alternative source of creation or life.
- We have sinned by using His Name in a way
that is inappropriate given His greatness! Each of these sins earns us a wage
and the payment is death.
- That cannot be changed. Those who sin, refuse
God's good grace, earn a wage of wrath for themselves. We have earned our wage,
in this case death! That's not great news!
- Our lives apart from God earn an income that leads
to separation from God! If it ended there, that would be a sad verdict.
- If that was the entire message, we could
decry God's justice system to a point and then acquiesce to it's righteousness.
But He has not left us without hope.
- The wages of sin is death, yes. Since that
cannot be argued or changed, God adds something else to the table: A gift!
- But, the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord! What a magnificent word!
- That is really the story of the entire Bible.
We were doomed with no way of escape, until He made a way of escape! He
demonstrates that same principle here.
- The word "But" is an interjection. "But"
represents the possibility for a change in condition and the fact is that God
was not content to leave us in that hopeless condition.
- Notice that this gift is the gift of God. It's
His gift. It is His idea. He's the One who has made the decision and the
personal investment!
- It's vital to understand that while God must
accurately assess our condition-We are sinners- He is also bountifully gracious
to take care of assuring the possibility of escape!
- How do I say that He is gracious? Note what Paul
does not say that God has said. "You have earned a wage for sin. Now, I
will allow you to earn a wage for life."
- That's not what God offers, but that would
have been fair and we would likely have taken it on the basis of our belief
that we could reverse our conditions with a lot of hard work!
- God knows us better and does away with the
wage earning concept and says, "You may have this gift, but you cannot
begin to think that you could earn it!"
- What can God do for those who have earned a
wage leading them to rightfully to separation from God's kind presence? God can
offer a gift!
- It's a gift that He conceived of before you
were born, in fact, before the foundation of the earth, according to Revelation 13:8.
- It's a gift that He took the time to wrap, in
that He wrapped Himself in human flesh, adding humanity to deity, according to Philippians 2:5-8.
- It's a gift that eventually cost Him His very
own life as Jesus effectually paid the price for the sins that you earned! Our
sin earns us a death. His gift provides us with life!
- That gift of God is life centered on the
person of Jesus Christ, the baby King which we all have sung of and who is the
object of the Christian's love and affection!
- God has turned the tables and said, "I
won't let them have what they have earned and I will come personally to make
sure that it gets done!"
- Like the gifts that we receive today, or over
this week, we have the opportunity to be thankful, to recognize that God is the
One who is giving it.
- The entire Bible is the story of God
overcoming our weakness, patiently not giving us what we deserve, offering us
chance after chance. We can be thankful for that alone.
- Add to that the investment of people and time
that He has had to move just to make this offer clear to each of us! Every
person that comes to Christ is a miracle of His grace!
- But we must also realize that this gift
requires our receiving it! He has extended the invitation. It is now in our
court.
- Unlike most gifts, we know exactly what is
inside: Eternal life! The word "eternal" speaks of what is beyond the
horizon point, beyond that which can be seen.
- That is where God exists and calls you to
join Him beginning now!
- He offers this as a gift! Remember: You can
appreciate it's value, but you cannot buy it for yourself, not can you offer to
pay for it! You must personally reach out your hands to receive it!
- It's there under a tree, the tree on the hill
called "Calvary." It's bought and paid for. It has your name on it.
- If you pick it up and take it as your own,
every other gift will pale in comparison because no other gift can possibly
last as long as eternal life! Will you take His gift to you?
Conclusion
- Let's pray!
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