GOD’S INDESCRIBABLE GIFT
2 CORINTHIANS 9:15
Throughout Scripture Christ is described in a great number of ways. Names for Him are given in both Old and New Testaments and are too numerous for me to mention this morning.
But here in 2 Corinthians we see Him referred to as God’s indescribable gift. And I think it is an appropriate wording because there is no way we could ever accurately describe all the beauty and majesty and all the many qualities and attributes of Christ.
If I were to ask each of you what He means to you personally, I’d likely get a broad variety of answers depending on your experience and you particular walk with Christ. But I would hope that each of you could say with all honesty that He is the greatest gift of your life.
Since this is the day after Christmas I trust that each of you have had opportunity to receive a certain amount of gifts from friends and loved ones. Some of the things you may have gotten are things you had really hoped for...or maybe even went beyond your expectations.
And it’s fun to share with others some of the things that you may have received either this year or over the years that were kind of funny. I can’t help but think of the movie called "The Christmas Story"...the one where little Ralphy wants nothing but a Red Rider B.B. gun...
And all through the story everyone says to him "You’ll shoot your eye out!" I don’t remember just how old Ralphy is in the story, but he’s well into grade school at least. Anyway, on Christmas he opens up his presents and gets one from his aunt who hasn’t seen him for quite some time...and it’s a pair of bunny pajamas...ears...feet...
They make him put them on...and make a big fuss over how thoughtful aunt so and so was...but it was definitely one of those presents you’d like to forget about.
I got a shirt one time that was so ugly I decided to use it for a rag to clean my car...but when I started to wipe off the hood with it, even the car backed out of the driveway to get away from it.
And then there were certain gifts that I’ve gotten over the years that were very special to me. Many of them weren’t very expensive gifts and some were even hand made...but because of who they came from and the relationship I had with them...it made it very special.
So how do we determine the value or worth of a gift that we receive? I believe there are 4 tests that may be applied to any gift to determine it’s true importance and significance.
And as we look this morning at the gift that God sent us...I want to examine these 4 areas and see how they apply to the gifts we’ve received.
1. The motive of the gift. When it comes to giving gifts, we have a variety of motives and there are more than I care to mention at this time...but they would include things such as a duty gift...or an obligation gift.
Most of us have certain people who we would rather forget when it comes to spending our hard earned money on...but we have a kind of duty to perform...
"I got them something because they are my in laws or out laws..."if I don’t it will be rough around the kitchen table for a long time to come..."
Or you may have heard someone say, "So and so got sent me a birthday present so I better send her something for Christmas so she won’t think I’ve forgotten her (even though I may like to)." Or, "I just got a Christmas card with some money in it from my third cousin, twice removed...so I better send them something..
And we also have our policy gifts..."He may be useful to me in my business, so I’ll send him a gift. Or I may need them for something in the future so I’ll send them something to keep in their good graces."
But there are also gifts that come from a much greater, purer motive and these are love gifts...ones that come right from the heart. Gifts that often times reach the point of being self sacrificing gifts.
I’m sure all of us have, at one time or another received a gift from someone that we know cost that person at great deal...and I don’t mean just in terms of money.
There are times I can remember where my mother gave up time and personal convenience and enjoyment for her to give me things that I neither deserved or really required. And it was her love that prompted that giving and sacrifice.
And that is just a meager example of the love and self sacrifice of God. Yesterday we celebrated the day when God sent us the greatest gift the world has ever known...a gift that cost Him dearly.
God is not a tradesmen or an opportunist. He’s under no obligation to us for any of the gifts He gives us. And He doesn’t try to flatter us with His attention so that He can benefit from our good will.
God freely gave us the gift of His son...knowing that He was sending that gift to be offered up as a sacrifice...to be ridiculed...and scorned...beaten, tormented and tortured.
And if that wasn’t enough...God had to turn His back on Jesus while He took the sins of the world upon Himself...your sins and mine...and watch Him as He died.
It was love that prompted God’s gift, that indescribable gift of His only begotten son...and that love expressed itself in self sacrifice not because His resources were limited...but because of the depth of human need...our need of a Savior.
There are a lot of mixed motives for our giving...but God was motivated purely by love when He sent to us the greatest gift of all.
2. The second test of a gift is its intrinsic value.
Here again we can look to many examples of the value of things we’ve received. But this is often where we go wrong. We are a very materialistic society...and we place far too great an emphasis on the dollar value of things.
I’ve bought cars for less than some now pay for a pair of sneakers... but then I may not have much class. But I can run as fast in my $20 shoes as I could in the ones with the famous name on them...or ones with the blinking lights or whatever.
What I’m trying to say here is that intrinsic value is not necessarily contingent upon the price of the item. There are things far more important than material worth...or public consensus.
When we give a gift, what does it really mean...to us or to the person receiving it? One time I got one of those fantastic knives...you know the one...it cuts, it chops¡Kslices...dices...saw thru copper pipe or a shoe sole...it would do everything but turn on the oven.
I don’t think I ever did use the thing. The commercial was kind of funny, but what I needed at the time was something far more important than a steak knife. It may have been a good product, but it was of little value to me in my life at that time.
But look at the gift that God sent me. In Christ we find the highest moral character...which is something far more precious than gold. In the gift that God sent !I too„Ç can develop and gain character and moral standards that will enable me to stand in the midst of any onslaught the devil may unleash on our society.
In the gift that God sent me...I have the spiritual power that will enable me to be victorious in any situation where I walk hand in hand with my Savior.
In the gift that God gave me...I have been given the ability to love even when I get no love in return. Christ gives me the power and the ability to look deep inside the heart of the hardest and vilest of people...to see in there a void that only He can fill.
And when I recognize that in even the worst of people I am able to say, "There but for the grace of God go I" ...it’s then that I realize that through the gift that God sent, I can pray for and care about that person...even while they are yet in their sin.
The Scripture says that even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. There can be no gift of any greater intrinsic value than the gift that God sent to each of us...in the person of Jesus Christ.
3. The third test of a gift is its uniqueness.
I think that one of the hardest things to do this time of the year is to try to find a gift for the person who has everything. Have you ever run across that situation?
There are some people who you want to get something for but they just flat out don’t need anything...at least nothing within my ability to provide. And so we try to find something unique...something even they may not have.
This is where we can really get into the bizarre. I think this is what made Ron Popeil a millionaire many times over. You know who he is don’t you? He’s the inventor and marketer of Ronco products...you know, that almost all sell for $19.95.
Like spray paint for bald spots...or fold up fishing rods (I had one of them) and any number of unique items. Some of them may be good products...I don’t mean to put them down...but I have to say that many of them definitely qualify for the title of unique.
The problem is..many closets and attics are filled with these kind of unique items. But we all really desire to give a gift that is at least in some ways unique.
Well, God gave us a gift that was truly beyond the realm of the natural...one that came wrapped in swaddling clothes rather than fancy paper and a ribbon. And there has never been a gift given that was as unique.
And this is the hardest to describe...because it goes beyond human expression and understanding. He was fully human...yet divine. Even though He was physically born the same as any other baby He was in existence before the foundations of the world...He even created it.
He was more than a Jew, yet not a Gentile. He was the example and inspiration of the strongest of men...but also the frailest of women. He was meek and tender...yet bold and committed.
Isaiah says there was nothing about Him that would make Him stand out above the crowd physically...yet multitudes sought Him out and followed Him...many giving their very lives for Him.
Never has there been a gift given that is totally unique like the gift that God gave us. The Son of Man...yet the Son of God.
4. The final test is the usefulness of the gift.
It is likely that there are many who will be at least a little puzzled over exactly what you will do with some of your presents. Some will find their use very limited or seasonal.
I remember after getting out of the service after my first hitch, that several years in a row all I asked for were things related to hunting. And for a couple weeks a year those things came in handy (as I took my rifle for long walks in the woods).
But they were practically useless the rest of the year. I have a few ornaments that I hang on our tree each year that have great sentimental value, but if they were lost or destroyed it wouldn’t send me into a severe depression or anything like that.
Many of the things I’ve gotten over the years that I thought I just couldn’t do without are now either worn out...out dated...or just plain no good to me anymore.
But wouldn’t it be great if we could all get a gift that we could use every day of the year? One that would never wear out...or go out of style...one that would give me even greater pleasure than when I first received it.
There is, of course, such a gift. It is one that has been tested throughout the ages. Many of you here know of its usefulness. It is that gift that God gave us, whose birth we celebrated yesterday.
It is a gift that can remove from us that tremendous weight of guilt and sin that rests upon every human soul. It is the gift that satisfies the deepest hunger in the human heart... that fills that emptiness and gives us a joy and a peace that even we can’t understand.
It is a gift that will give us strength when we’re weak and hurting... it will teach us how to grow and stand strong in a world gone mad. It will give us the heart to fight for truth and purity.
In those long, stormy nights of overwhelming sorrow...in the long dreary days of illness...even in the hour of death, it is God’s indescribable gift that brings victory and triumph.
The greatest gift ever to be given...but there is one catch. Even though it is free to all it is a gift that will be useless to us... unless we willingly reach out to receive it.
So many know all about it...you’ve seen the "commercials"...heard the testimonies...know that it has worked in countless lives. You even hang around places where the gift is evident and being used.
Yet you never have received it yourselves. And that is the greatest tragedy of all time. A gift, the greatest gift of all, fully paid for and available...yet time after time you walk away without it.
This morning there is a gift that I’d like to share with some of you. It is a gift that will be the greatest gift you’ve ever received... one that I know you will be able to enjoy for all eternity.
What better day than at Christmas time...the time we celebrate the birth of Christ...God’s indescribable gift to all humanity...what better time that today to finally reach out and receive that gift for yourself.
I know there are some here this morning that desperately need what Paul referred to as God’s indescribable gift. Why not come forward this morning and receive that gift that will truly change your life...
It is...
A gift motivated by love
A gift of greatest value
A gift that is totally unique in all the world
A gift that will not only be useful here on earth...but will give you access to eternity in heaven with our Lord.
Why not come as we pray...
