A Gift Beyond Description

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER

CENTRAL CHRISTIAN, BROWNSVILLE, TX

A. My text this morning is 2 Corinthians 9:15. It is a short verse, only 8 words long. Listen as the apostle Paul says, "Thanks be unto God for His indescribable gift."

This is the time of year when we are concerned about choosing just the right Christmas gifts to give to the special people in our lives. But let me ask you, "Have you ever received an indescribable gift?" Have you ever received a gift that was beyond description?

I thought about that for a while this week. What kind of gift would it have to be to be called "indescribable?" Would it be a gift that you open & look at & say, "This is just beautiful, & it is something that I’ve wanted all my life - what is it?"

Or maybe it is a gift that carries a lot of emotional feelings with it. It was given to you by someone very special, & it was a complete surprise when it was given. You’ll treasure it always because of the memories. Would that make it an indescribable gift?

Or maybe it would be a gift that you cared so little about that you wouldn’t even bother to find words to try to describe it.

ILL. A while back, on "Good Morning, America," Joan Lunden featured some gift ideas that might be called indescribable. They were extraordinary gifts that some of you might want to include on your Christmas gift list.

One of them was a Jaguar automobile, the Jaguar 220. If you care to order one of these, go to your Jaguar dealer & put down your $80,000 deposit. Then when the automobile is delivered, you are expected to pay the balance of $507,000. The Jaguar 220 is a $587,000 automobile, & they only make 250 of them a year.

Now if you should care to buy your preacher one of those to express your love & appreciation for him, I’ll be a gracious recipient. But I warn you ahead of time, I may not be able to find words to describe my gratitude. It might be an indescribable gift.

Joan Lunden also mentioned that if you were to purchase such an automobile, you might also be interested in a new car wax that promises to give it the ultimate shine. It retails for $3,400 for an 8 ounce can. I guess if you can afford a $587,000 automobile, why not spend $3,400 for car wax?

A third item she mentioned was a $300,000 gold & silver toilet seat inlaid with precious stones. Of course, there were cheaper gifts for those who have everything: an $18,000 frisbee, a $10,000 yoyo, a $12,000 mousetrap, & even a $27,000 pair of sunglasses.

And for the proud grandparent who is wondering what to buy the new grandbaby, how about a $28,000 pacifier?

Such gifts stagger our imagination, don’t they? But they are not indescribable. Even though we may not be able to find words to describe them, I assure you the manufacturers can, & they will spend lots of money describing them in TV & newspaper ads.

They will seek to describe them in such appealing ways as to entice you into believing that you simply can’t live the rest of your life without them. You see, every human gift is describable by someone.

APPL. In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul at first is writing about human gifts. The church in Corinth is taking up offerings to give to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. He commends them for their eagerness to help, & reminds them that those who sow sparingly will also reap sparingly, but that those who sow generously will reap generously.

B. Then he shifts his attention from human gifts to God’s gift of sending Jesus to earth for us. And he cannot find words to describe that. He simply says, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift."

ILL. Now at this time of the year we do our best to depict the wonderfulness of God’s gift of Jesus to us.

Musicians have composed some of their greatest music on this theme: Handel’s "Messiah," Bach’s "Christmas Oratorio," & the beautiful hymns, "Joy to the World," "Silent Night, Holy Night," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," & my favorite, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."

Some of the greatest music our ears will ever hear were written about God’s indescribable gift.

Poets & painters & sculptors have taken up the tools of their trade to pay tribute to Jesus, the gift of God’s love.

PROP. Now Paul said, "Thanks be unto God for His indescribable gift." Why does Paul call Jesus "indescribable?" I think that there are at least four reasons.

I. BECAUSE OF HIS NATURE

A. First of all, I believe that Paul calls Jesus "indescribable" because of His nature. How do you describe Jesus? What words would you choose? How do you describe a baby born of a virgin? How do you describe God in flesh, walking upon our earth & reaching out to the hurting masses of humanity?