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Introduction:
Many of us will be exchanging gifts with family tonight and
tomorrow. Some of the gifts will be extremely meaningful. Some
will be tokens just to say, “I thought of you.” Some will be
completely useless, causing the receiver to wonder if the giver
thought at all. We will take some of the gifts and use them fully,
enjoying them. Some of the gifts will be hung on the walls;
decorations and memories for everyone to enjoy. Some of the gifts
will be used quickly and then forgotten. Some of the gifts will be
put in the closet or the attic and never used. Many people
erroneously believe December 25 is the birthday of Jesus. Further,
many misappropriate the festivities thinking all we do around
Christmas are ways to honor and glorify God. That is not the case.
We know God never told us the day of Jesus’ birth, which ought
to tell us something about what God thinks of celebrating Jesus’
birthday. We know we do not honor and worship God by decorating a
tree, stringing up lights or passing out gifts. But I do believe
we can pass out gifts anytime we want. I believe we are allowed to
have a day where we share our blessings with others. I would like
to take this time of gift giving and shift our thoughts away from
video games, dvds, gizmos, gadgets, sweaters and ties to the
greatest gift of all—God’s gift of Jesus. John
3:16 says “For God so loved the world, He, that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not
perish, but have eternal life.” The greatest gift was not a cute
little baby in a manger. Rather, it was a rugged, mangled,
grotesque picture of suffering as a man hung on a cross, bleeding,
gasping for breath, finally died. Then three days later He arose,
triumphant over death, paving the way for our resurrection if we
will just believe and follow Him. That is the greatest gift ever.
God has offered everyone that gift. What will we do with it? Discussion: I.
Reject it. A.
The biggest shopping day of the year is the day after
Thanksgiving. The second biggest day is the day after Christmas.
That is when 75% of the people take back what was bought for them
on the day after Thanksgiving. I remember one gift I bought for
Marita. She had said she wanted it more than once. I thought I was
getting her exactly what she wanted. It was a big George Foreman
grill. A couple days after Christmas (or maybe it was a birthday,
I can’t remember which) Marita sheepishly came up to me and
said, “Would it terribly upset you if I took the George Foreman
grill back?” You know the answer to that question based on the
fact that I am bringing it up so many years later. She had
rejected my gift. What had happened? Well, Marita had repeatedly
said she wanted it. But by the time I finally got around to
getting one, she had decided it wasn’t as useful as she once
thought. B.
Rejecting the gift sometimes says, “The gift doesn’t
fit, I need one that fits me better.” Sometimes it means, “I
like the gift but it is the wrong color. It doesn’t perfectly
suit me and my tastes.” Sometimes it means, “I just don’t
like it.” Whatever spin we put on it, rejecting the gift
ultimately means, “I don’t see any use in my life for this
gift.” That is exactly what some people do with God’s gift.
Consider I
Corinthians 1:22-24. Paul explained most people don’t
have a use for the cross. To the Jews, it was a stumbling block.
It didn’t fit them and what they expected. They stumbled over
it, not really knowing what they should do with it. To the Greeks,
it was foolishness. What use did they have for God coming in the
flesh to die a humiliating death? They didn’t want the gift. So
they rejected it. Will you do that with God’s gift? II.
Procrastinate. A.
What is the single most bought gift these days? Gift cards.
You don’t know what to give but you know they like Barnes and
Noble, Starbucks, Olive Garden or even Wal-Mart. Give a gift card.
Then you can pay for the exact gift they want. However, were you
aware that, until recently, most gift cards came with a catch?
Until word about this got around and consumers started pitching
fits, retailers would charge fees. If you didn’t use the card
within a specified period of time, the retailer deducted a fee at
regular intervals, sometimes as much as a dollar per month. Some
people, hanging on to the gift card until they found the perfect
item, found out they couldn’t purchase the item because they had
procrastinated too long; their balance was too low. B.
II
Peter 3:9
says the Lord is patient, but that doesn’t give us leave to try
His patience. The parable of Luke
13:6-9 demonstrates the point. The vineyard-owner had come
to the fig tree for three years looking for fruit and found
nothing. He was going to remove the tree but the vineyard-keeper
said, “Leave it alone for one more year. Let me fertilize it and
see what happens. If it doesn’t produce anything next year, then
cut it down.” God is patient. But we do not know which year we
are in. It is not an issue of age. It is an issue of God’s
judgment. No matter how old you are, for all you know, you are in
the fourth year. If you don’t bear fruit soon, God is going to
cut you down. Some people want the gift, but not today. They want
other things first and procrastinate. For most of these, it
becomes too late. What will you do with God’s gift? III.
Put it on the hidden wall. A.
When I was in college in Wichita, KS, I lived with an older
couple named Bob and Jean. While I was there, they got a picture.
I don’t remember if it was someone’s gift to Bob or if it was
Bob’s gift to Jean. Or if it was Bob’s gift to himself. Bob
thought the picture was the most hilarious thing. If I remember
correctly, it showed two caricatured cows kissing. It is funny in
its own weird way. However, it is not a picture most people want
in their house. Jean did not, but Bob did. What could she say? She
let it be put up on the hidden wall. The only way you would see it
is if you came in the back door. Even then you might miss it if
you came in looking toward the dining room instead of looking
straight ahead. Bob got what he wanted—the picture was hung up.
Jean got what she wanted—almost no one ever sees it. B.
Some people treat God’s gift like this. They want the
eternal life; they just don’t want anyone to know. They won’t
talk about spiritual things, invite people to assemblies or
classes, stand up on moral issues or speak out when error is
taught. They sometimes go along with sin because they don’t want
to stand out. They dress like the world, act like the world, talk
like the world and look like the world. They want heaven and earth
all at the same time. So they hide Jesus on the back wall. Only
the few people they “go to church” with know Jesus is remotely
connected to them (supposedly). Matthew
10:32-33 explains clearly this kind of treatment is not
acceptance at all. Unless Jesus is publicly displayed in our
lives, He will not publicly display us before His Father. We
can’t accept God’s gift and then hang it on the hidden wall in
our heart. We have to declare Jesus in our actions and words. What
will you do with God’s gift? IV.
Use it for show. A.
Have you ever seen the movie “The Christmas Story”
about little Ralphie who wanted the Red Rider BB gun (I can only
recommend watching a version edited for language). Before getting
the gun, he got another gift—a big pink rabbit costume from his
aunt. What do they do with the costume? Well that is one of those
gifts that is put away except when the aunt comes around. Then it
has to come out and be worn. It is one of those gifts you don’t
really like, but you will put it on for show around certain people
or in certain situations. B.
Some people do this with Jesus. They don’t want Jesus
running their lives, but they are happy to let Him out of the
closet in certain situations. Certainly, when they are “at
church.” Or when the preacher comes to visit. Have you seen
those businessmen or salesmen that put pictures of a fish or a
cross on their business card? I don’t want to paint with too
broad a brush, but my experience has been that is usually for
show. In fact, I had a friend who said you can just about be
certain you are going to get gypped if the person has a fish on
their card. It reminds me of the used car salesman who was cussing
and talking dirty with his co-workers, but when we walked into his
office he had a framed picture of John
3:16 on his wall and a Bible laying on his desk. Matthew
6:33 says we need to seek God’s kingdom and
righteousness as the priority for our lives. His kingdom and
righteousness should be the foundation and prime-mover of our
lives. Christianity is not something we dust off and bring out
when we want to secure a deal, impress someone or look good among
other Christians. Christianity is to be a way of life. What will
you do with God’s gift? V.
Accept it half-heartedly. A.
Something changed in me about 12 years ago. About 12 years
ago I started having to pay for my own clothes. Since then, I love
to get clothes for Christmas and birthdays (hint, hint). But
before then, getting clothes was ho-hum. I liked having good
clothes, but I didn’t like getting them for Christmas. My
parents had to buy clothes anyway, why do it at Christmas?
Regrettably, they viewed clothes at Christmas as a two for one
deal, getting new clothes and Christmas presents at the same time.
Whenever they handed me a box that set off the clothes radar, I
knew to put on the smile, pretend to be happy, hold up the shirt
so they could get a picture of it and then toss it to the side so
I could look for something cool. I took the clothes, but I was
never excited about them. B.
Some people accept Jesus this way. They want just enough
Jesus to get into heaven, but not enough to actually crimp their
style. After all, they have to live a little. They’ll make it to
the Sunday morning assembly, but give up extra hours to be back on
Sunday night and Wednesday? “Give me a break. I have a life you
know.” Some will make it “to church” regularly, but ask them
to sacrifice a Monday night to help a widow, a Saturday to help
clean the building or a Friday evening to have a Bible study and
you hit a brick wall. It’s as if to say, “Hey, I get enough of
that church stuff on Sunday.” They’ll attempt to cut back on
the immorality they were committing before becoming a Christian,
but talk to them about their wandering eyes and they respond,
“Hey, just ‘cause I’m on a diet, doesn’t mean I can’t
look at the menu.” These and many others have only
half-heartedly accepted Jesus. Consider the Laodicean Christians
of Revelation
3:14-22. Jesus said He wants extreme Christianity, not
lukewarm, half-hearted service. What will you do with God’s
gift? VI.
Accept it and make it part of your life. A.
Perhaps one of the greatest gift givers in the world is
Marita. She has given great gifts. Not long after we married she
gave me two fold out picture maps of Middle-Earth based on the Lord
of the Rings books. Then a few years later she snuck off and
had them framed. Gifts like that get publicly displayed in my
house or office everywhere we move along with my shrine of other Lord
of the Rings gifts. (For those of you who have been to my
house, I do want you to know the life-sized poster of Aragorn is
hers, not mine.) Then last year, we had bought these aluminum
swords for the boys. They are great and lots of fun to play with.
They sound so real when you are banging on each other. I was so
excited for the boys and couldn’t wait to get to play with them.
Lo and behold if she didn’t sneak in a big one just for me to be
able to play with the boys. It came with a belt and scabbard. I
keep it draped around my bedpost. But perhaps the two best gifts
came on Father’s days. One gift was a circle box filled with
little trivial items. But inside was a poem explaining what each
item meant. The teddy bear that shows how we love to bear hug. The
piece of gum that shows how we stick together. The band aid that
shows how I always come to my kids’ rescue and so on. I keep
that gift in my office and often pull it down to look inside and
remember what they said about me. Another gift was a small
scrapbook that has pictures of me with my dad and me with my kids
and lots of great little messages. I love that thing. It is the
most special gift I have ever received from another person. These
are the kinds of gifts we accept whole-heartedly. They become a
part of our life. We show them off for all to see and share them
with others. This is what we need to do with God’s gift. B.
Sadly, very few accept God’s gift this way. Matthew
7:13-14 says few will follow God’s strait and narrow
path through Jesus. Galatians
2:20 shows the real acceptance of God’s gift. We
sacrifice ourselves allowing Jesus to live through us. God gave us
His Son. In response, we must give Him our lives. What will you do
with God’s gift? Conclusion: Here is the interesting thing about Christmas gifts. We live in such a time of plenty. Most of us received gobs and gobs of stuff last Christmas. Few of us, however, can even remember the gifts we received for Christmas last year, let alone all the past years. The specialness of any one gift is often lost in the crowd of multiple gifts. We must not ever let God’s gift to us just blend in with all the other gifts. We must never lose sight of what God did for us. We ask, “What have you done for me lately?” God responds, “I gave My Son.” We beg, “God I need Your blessing.” He responds, “I gave My Son.” We cajole, “God, please just show me something that says You care.” He responds, “I gave My Son.” He loved us so much, He gave His only begotten Son. What have you done with God’s gift?
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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