“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
2 Cor 9:15
It is Christmas again, a time to exchange gifts. We all love this season because we also receive gifts. As usual, the commercial world is busy suggesting gifts in various forms, solely with commercial motives. When we look at the gifts we receive, they all are of temporal value. At times, they have nothing to do with Christmas at all.
As God’s people, our focus should be on the “unspeakable gift” who is Christ himself. We cannot fully describe Jesus in mere human terms as He is beyond human expression. Martin Luther calls it a mystery. He said, “The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding.”
The wonder of Christmas is that Christ in whom the fullness of God dwelt came to our understanding. John the apostle reminds us of the Logos who came in the flesh. Jesus is the final argument and the ultimate proof of God’s revelation to mankind. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. described His nature as “unconfused, unchangeable, invisible, and inseparable.” Yet God gave without reservation, without condition, and without obligation.
This gift is so wonderful because of its (His) eternal value. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) God gave his son Jesus to bring back eternity into man’s life.
Thus, above all other gifts, we need to treasure this precious gift God has generously given to us. While we were yet sinners, God showered His blessings upon us through Jesus, His generous gift to us. All other gifts fade away in the light of this generosity of God, who willingly sent His Son to be a sacrifice for us.
We give during Christmas because we have received. Our generosity to others should be rooted in the generosity of God.
God sent His Son with all His passion and love. He came to rule in us. In all our celebrations, we should demonstrate that Christ’s rule is within us.
To know that this gift is given to us in the person of Jesus is a wonder. He came in human flesh, but His glory outshone His humanity. John rightly said, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John1:14)
All that glitter around this time of the year are artificial, temporal and fakes. They all fade away in the light of the glory of the One who came from the Father. But for the grace of God, we are not worthy to receive this gift from God our Father. That should bring us to our knees to worship Him in gratitude and love.
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Cor 9:15) n
Picture by Pasko Maksim/Bigstock.com
The Rev R. Prabhu was elected President of Emmanuel Tamil Annual Conference (ETAC) in 2012 for the quadrennium. He is also Pastor-in-Charge of Ang Mo Kio Tamil Methodist Church.