The Value of God's Gift
December 18, 2016
1 John 4:9-10
Christmas is such a great time of the year, especially for kids. But my family didn’t celebrate Christmas, so I missed out on all of that fun. But we did celebrate Chanukah! We would light the Chanukah candles each night for the 8 nights of the holiday - - - and - - - we would open presents too.
I would receive a present each night, which was really cool. The first night was always the night for the big present. I always looked forward to the night, to lighting the candles, then getting ready to see what my gift was. I never searched the house, I was always low key when it came to gifts. But I did want the biggest and best gift possible.
As a child, I wanted the biggest gift, heaviest gift possible. That meant it was going to be the best gift. When you think about it, we all have ideas of what the best present is, don't we? We can picture it in our mind. How do you measure the value of a gift? How do you judge its worth? By its size? Its weight? Its cost? Its uniqueness?
What I'd like to do is look at God's gift to us. Imagine it's wrapped up, it has bows and it's standing in the corner and it's large.
The apostle John told us ~
9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. — 1 John 4:9-10
It's pretty clear in these verses that God's gift to us is His Son, Jesus. The gift isn't a thing, it's a person. At Christmas we remember this person was born over 2,000 years ago. Some of you may wonder what's the big deal with a child born and put into a manger over 2,000 years ago? Why all the songs, carols, lights, and cheesy TV movies? Four million babies are born each year in our country alone. Why is this child's birth so special? Why do we sing about one single child born so many years ago, far away in the Middle East? What's the big deal about this one? Why is this gift so valuable? We can measure the value of this gift in a few ways.
First, God's gift is measured by His motive. All of us have received gifts where we've questioned the motive. It doesn't matter how awesome the gift is, if the motive of the giver is somehow in question, the value of the gift is diminished. Maybe someone was motivated by guilt or obligation. Maybe someone was motivated by a desire for others to see how generous they are or what great taste they have. Or you gave them a gift, so they had to get you a gift. These motives taint a gift no matter how big or expensive it is.
On the other hand, if a gift is motivated by love, it really doesn't matter what it is; we still appreciate it. How many of us have made things for our parents, maybe in Art class or Shop, and whether or not it looked nice, they displayed it for the world to see, because they knew the motivation was love.
These verses from 1 John tell us the motive behind God's gift was love. John says, "This is how God showed His love among us - - - that God sent His Son." So the One whose birth we celebrate at Christmas was the manifestation of God's love, and that love didn't come in response to our love. It wasn't like God said, "Okay, you gave me something, now I'll give you something, too." This gift was initiated by God.
There are many reasons God sent His Son. His Son would reveal God’s nature. His Son would bring salvation. His Son would bring Him glory. But the greatest and sweetest reason God sent His Son is that He loves us. You might even say He'd rather die than live without us. A couple weeks ago, I said, “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. Whenever you want to talk to Him, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. Face it - - God's crazy in love with you.”
God knows us perfectly. All things are open and laid before Him: our darkest secrets, our deepest shame, our stormy past, our worst thoughts, our hidden motives, our vilest imagination, even our vain attempts to cover it all up and appear to be something we're not. God sees all this, and yet He still loved us enough to send His Son.
That’s a gift we cannot deny, we cannot reject a gift given to us with only one reason . . . love, God’s love for you and I!
God's gift is measured by its motive, but it's also measured by its cost. A gift doesn't have to be expensive to be meaningful and valuable; cost is measured in many different ways. You can pay a lot of money for a gift and that's one way to measure cost. Or you can spend a lot of time finding or even making a gift, and that's another way to measure cost. For some, time and energy are far more costly than money.
So how do we measure the value of God's gift in terms of cost? The Bible says - - "God sent His one and only Son into the world." That was costly. We don't always think of that as costly, but it was. Theologians call this kenosis. It comes from the Greek word meaning "to empty." The word is used to describe Jesus in Philippians 2:6-7, 6 who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." – Philipppians 2:6-7
That kenosis was part of the cost. God stepped from his throne, removed His royal robe and wrapped Himself in skin. The light of the universe entered a dark womb. The One angels worship nestled Himself in the placenta of a peasant girl, and was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow's hay in a stinky barn.
We could say, Jesus said good-bye to everything he'd known in heaven. That was costly. But it didn't stop there. There was even a greater price to pay. John also says God the Father "sent His Son to be the propitiation of our sins. That means Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for our sins." Only through Him can we find forgiveness and redemption. There was a cost in kenosis, but there was an even greater cost in the Cross.
In the same passage in Philippians, Paul goes on to say in verse 8, "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!" – Philipppians 2:8
In order for us to be set free from sin and death a payment (ransom) had to be made. Throughout the Old Testament it was the blood of a spotless lamb that was shed year after year to pay for the sins of God's people. It could never fully satisfy our sinfulness. So, God came up with a once - for - all solution: His spotless Son would shed His own blood. That's what the angel was talking about when He said to Joseph, "... He will save his people from their sins." He didn't do that through His birth, but through His death.
At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, but we also remember the purpose for which He came. He came on a mission. He came to die for us. The birth of Jesus is wonderful and mysterious, but it's for naught, if we lose sight of His death on the cross. Our awe over His birth isn't just that He came, but that He came to be crucified for you and for me.
God's gift is measured by its motive and by its cost. There's one more thing. It's also measured by its usefulness. What's the usefulness of that gift to us?
Notice in verse 9 the usefulness of the gift — "that we might live through Him." So God's gift has the ultimate practical value in that it gives us life. "Life" in this sense doesn't mean physical existence, but it means spiritual life; eternal life with God that starts now.
Later in this letter John writes,
11 God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. – 1 John 5:11-12
Jesus said it this way: "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). What a promise! Not just life, not just existence, but life which means something, life that has worth, life with a purpose, life which has value, life with meaning. A life with eternal consequences and benefits.
It means we have a purpose. One of the great Christmas songs started out as an advertising gimmick. In 1939 Montgomery Ward hired advertising executive Robert May to write a poem their store Santa Claus could give away to children who came to visit him. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in a little booklet published by the department store chain.
More than 2.5 million copies were handed out. By 1946 more than 6 million copies of the poem were distributed. Rudolph's story came to musical life in 1949 when May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote the music. After it was turned down by Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, singing cowboy Gene Autry recorded it. Today Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is the highest-selling Christmas carol, at more than 25 million units.
What makes this little carol so loved? Some people might say it's the courage of Rudolph. But the real beauty of the story focuses on grace. By grace, Santa chooses Rudolph despite the fact he's an outsider and "reject." He has a defect — his big, annoyingly shiny red nose — that has disqualified him from getting chosen for other reindeer games.
But despite all the other candidates, who did Santa choose when the fog rolled in? That's right, the one with the weird shiny red nose. The "weakness" that was considered a liability by Rudolph and his fellow reindeer became the "strength" that Santa used to accomplish his mission.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
You were specially created, hand crafted, uniquely made for the purpose of bringing glory to God. Your purpose is to live a life that magnifies, honors and glorifies the Lord, to use your gifts and talents in helping others, to tell those who don't know Jesus that there's good news. Your purpose is to bring glory to God in all you say and do, so that when all is said and done, you'll hear the words: "Well done, good and faithful servant."
God's gift of His Son has a great benefit to us. He gives us life. Despite our weaknesses, He gives us meaning and value and purpose.
God has given us the gift of His Son. The value of that gift is seen in its motive, cost, and usefulness.
I read that millions of dollars of gifts will go totally unopened and many thrown into the garbage.
I wonder if God's gift to you will be opened, not just opened, but redeemed? You see, God has given us the costliest gift imaginable, but just like all the gifts you'll be given on Christmas day, you have to receive it and open it and use it. Will you do that? To begin with that means you believe it and you receive it. You receive Jesus Christ into your life and trust in Him as your Savior. Then you begin to learn what it means to follow Him and enjoy Him and love Him. I read, "The Word did not become a philosophy to be discussed, a theory to be debated, or a concept to be pondered. The Word became a Person to be followed, enjoyed, and loved." Will you follow Jesus?!
