The Gift Is In The Box
Scriptures: Prov. 20:11; John 3:16; 1 Cor. 13:11; Luke 7:36-50
In 2017 I did a series entitled “It’s Time to Grow Up.” In that series I shared with you the differences between a mature Christian and one that is not mature. One of the foundation Scriptures was found in Proverbs 20:11 which say “It is by his deeds that a child distinguishes himself, if his conduct is pure and right.” I told you in that series that a child distinguishes him/herself by how they act – by their conduct and that we label children by how they act – good, bad, respectful, disrespectful, etc. Those labels are based on the actions of the child. We do the same for the child like actions of adults; when we see characteristics of a child being exhibited in an adult we call their behavior “childish.” As it relates to acting childish it speaks to a lack of maturity and/or growth. In that series I gave you examples of childish behaviors that would be normal for a child but abnormal for an adult. This morning I want you to reflect on the learnings from that series as I add one more example of a childish behavior that would be normal for a child but abnormal for an adult.
The title of my message this morning is “The Gift is in the Box.” First Corinthians 13:11 says, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” When I was a child, as most children do, I enjoyed playing with empty boxes. The bigger the box the more use you got from it. With an empty box you can use your imagination to create all sorts of things. You can have a fort; a house; a car; the possibilities are endless. If you have ever seen a small child on Christmas morning opening their presents and discarding the gift within the box so they can play with the empty box then you know what I am talking about. This is normal behavior for a small child. The empty box becomes whatever they want it to be as they immediately start playing with the box. Those kids are actually happier with the box versus the gift that was in it. This can be frustrating for the parent as you spent hours in the stores looking for that special gift for your toddler when in reality all you had to do was give them was an empty box. So what do we do as parents? Instead of sitting there and watching our children exhibit pure joy while playing with the empty box, we try to force them to play with the gift that came in the box. We pick it up and start playing with it ourselves hoping that our interest in it will help our child start playing (and appreciate) the gift. That toy, for a moment, may capture their eyes because we are playing with it but it is short lived as their eyes continually roam back to the empty box.
I cannot tell you this based on any scientific fact why those empty boxes are so important for a child but I can tell you that when a child plays with an empty box, that empty box becomes whatever that child wants that box to be. It could be anything in the eyes of that child. I never liked Sponge Bob Square Pants, but one of my daughters loved him. There was an episode on that show where Sponge Bob and his friend Patrick were in an empty box and you could hear the sound of machine guns and aircraft carriers coming from the box. Another friend, Squidward, walks up to the box and sees them sitting in the otherwise empty box. He asks where all of the noise was coming from and Sponge Bob says “Imagination.” All an empty box needs to become anything to a child is the child’s imagination. But what about the gift that came in the box? It does not take a lot of imagination to play with the gift that came in the box because whatever it is it can only be what it was made to be. The gift inside the box can only be that one thing – the thing it was created to be. The toy can be played with in make believe scenarios, but it’s still a particular toy. The toy is what it is – like it or not. Unlike the empty box, you can’t make changes to the toy and all of a sudden it becomes something else unless you’re playing with the Transformers and even then the options are limited. If you give a child a doll in a box, the doll is a doll. The child can dress the doll up in different clothes but it’s still a doll. Now the empty box that the doll came in is only limited by the imagination of the child playing with the box. This, my friends, is childlike behavior that is perfectly normal for a child. This behavior is not normal for an older teenager or an adult.
Nikki and I moved this past week. We had a lot of boxes of different sizes that we had to unpack. As we emptied each box I never had the desire to stop and play with one of those empty boxes!!! I want you to see this because I am going somewhere with all of this. As an adult if I started playing with empty boxes and making forts and crawling in and out of them all of you would think I had lost my mind! Why? Because that is childlike behavior, not the behavior of a grown man! It is not okay for a grown man to be out in the yard playing with an empty box alone. Now, if he is playing with a child that is acceptable. So for all of you adults who still love to play with empty boxes, please find a child to play with you so it will look like you are joining in with their fantasy world versus the child joining you in yours. My point with this is that it is perfectly normal for a child to play with an empty box but it would be highly abnormal for an adult to do it alone. That childlike behavior is a behavior that we “grow” out of as we mature.
I told you that in order to prepare your minds for this statement: some Christians are enjoying the box versus the gift in the box. Imagine someone giving you Jesus all wrapped up in a pretty box. They tell you how important the box is and what it holds. You immediately take the box and cherish it and that’s where the problem lies. Some Christians are celebrating Jesus while others are celebrating the “idea” of Him based on their imagination of who He could be in the box and there is a difference! “Outer Box” Jesus is the relationship we have with Jesus based on what others have told us about Him. It does not require any actions on our part. We have Him in the box; we take care of the box; we store the box; we take the box wherever we go; and when we leave this world the box is handed down to our family members. Imagine cherishing the “Outer Box” Jesus so much that you never took the time to open it and find out what was waiting for you on the inside of the box. All you knew and desired was the box. You did not care about opening it and digging through it, you cherished the box.
Then there were those curious folks who wanted to know what was in the box. They opened the box and found the “Gift within the Box” Jesus. This is the relationship we have with Jesus when we actually open the box and get to know Him. We take this step because we understand there was a reason that this gift was given to us and it was not for us to keep for ourselves. It was given to us so that when we received it we could share it with others. In the book of John we are told “For God so loved the world; that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) The first thing we read in this verse is “God so loved.” First John 4:8 says “God is love.” That is who God is! He is love. So this verse could literally read, For LOVE so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Sometimes we focus on God giving His Son but we miss that the Son had to be in agreement with being given. God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son and His only Son so loved the world so much that He agreed to be given. And the reason that God gave Jesus was for all those “whosoevers” who would ultimately believe on Him and would not perish. That person who believed on Jesus would not face eternal damnation because they would experience a new birth and go to heaven. That is the gift that is in the box - salvation! We have been given the gift but we must open the box. Opening the box is the only way we can share what’s in it. We cannot just cherish the box and never open it! This is what Christmas is about – opening the box to receive the gift inside and then sharing it with others. God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have ever lasting life.
Oftentimes we pay more attention to the “Outer Box” Jesus versus the Jesus who came to save us. “Outer Box” Jesus is the physical person, Jesus the man, the one we read about rather than the true gift that was inside the human being. When we do that, we devalue what Christmas really means. Let me explain it this way: you see me; you can spend time with me; we can watch TV together or share a meal together but does that mean you really know me? Unless you engage me you really do not know much about me. You do not know what I like or don’t like. You do not know what’s important to me. You do not know how I think? These are the unique things that make me who I am. If you are spending time with me but are not fully engaging me, then you are interacting with the “box” me verses the “inside” me. You know the outer box me but not the real person inside the box. For some of you that could be all you want. But, if you truly know me and understand me it happened because we have spent quality time together. In this case you have moved beyond the outer box. This same logic applied to our relationship with Jesus. Christians have pictures of Jesus hanging on the walls of our homes which let people know that we’re Christians. We have the Jesus bumper stickers. We have the sticker that says “I love Jesus” plastered all over our cars while we cuss at the person in front of us for cutting us off in traffic. I read a story once of a policeman pulling over a woman because he suspected that she had stolen the car she was driving. Apparently the policeman witnessed the women being cut off by another driver and the woman went ballistic on the other driver. The policeman pulls the woman over and asked for her license and registration. When she gave it to him he verified that the car was truly hers. She then asked him why he pulled her over. He said, “Madam, I saw all of the Jesus bumper stickers on your car and when I saw how you reacted toward the driver who cut you off I assumed that you had stolen the car because your action did not match up with the bumper stickers. I apologize for the inconvenience.” Can you imagine being pulled over because your bumper stickers identify you as a Christian but your behavior does not? When we have an “Outer Box” Jesus relationship, our behaviors does not always line up with our profession.
Let me show you this in Scripture. Turn with me to Luke chapter seven. This story demonstrates an example of celebrating the “outer box” Jesus versus the “gift inside the box” Jesus. “And one of the Pharisees asked Him that He would eat with him. And He went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat. And, behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat to eat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had bidden Him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, ‘This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches Him: for she is a sinner.’ And Jesus answering said unto him, ‘Simon, I have something to say unto you.’ And He said, ‘Teacher, say on.’ ‘There was a certain creditor who had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.’ And He said unto him, ‘You have rightly judged. And He turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, ‘See this woman? I entered into your house, you gave Me no water for My feet: but she has washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. You gave Me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil you did not anoint: but this woman has anointed My feet with ointment. Therefore I say unto you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.’ And he said unto her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ And they that sat to eat with him began to say within themselves, ‘Who is this that forgives sins also?’ And he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50)
Did you see it? Simon invited Jesus to his home for dinner. He saw Jesus as a man not fully believing that He was a prophet. Because of His popularity, Simon wanted an audience with Him. Simon was interacting with Jesus the man. This woman however, who was a sinner, came to interact with the “gift in the box” Jesus who was a forgiver of sins; a healer of sickness; and her salvation. This woman came to interact with the One who so loved her that her sins could be forgiven and she could be saved. This woman came to Him in public with tears rolling down her face because she needed to touch the Jesus that was on the inside of the box. She also brought with her some very expensive ointment in a very expensive alabaster box. Let me share something with you about the alabaster box. It was not an ordinary box. It was not made of paper, wood or cardboard. It was not a heavy duty shipping box. It was considered precious and costly. It was made of a special light weight marble with a beautiful white, almost transparent, color which was primarily found in Egypt. While the box itself was precious and valuable what it contained was even more valuable.
Why would this woman take the box and take the ointment in the box and pour it all on Jesus? She did it because she saw beyond the “outer box.” I want you to follow me here. Before this woman could get the ointment out of the bottle she had to break the seal. She broke the seal so that the gift she wanted to give could come forth. So she had this expensive box that held something very precious. She bypassed the outer box and gave up its content – the thing that was truly valuable. What she saw in Jesus meant more to her than the box and what it contained. When Simon, the Pharisee, complained in his heart that if Jesus was truly a prophet He would not be interacting with a sinner he displayed that he was only interested in the “outer box” Jesus. He did not know Him nor did he believe in why Jesus came. Jesus, understanding Simon’s heart, walked him through the difference between interacting with the outer box Jesus (Jesus the man) versus the “gift inside the box” Jesus , (Jesus the forgiver of sin.) When you examine everything that Jesus told Simon you can see that Simon was treating Jesus like he would treat anyone else of importance. He truly gave Jesus no special consideration. This woman, on the other hand, saw Jesus totally different. He became more valuable to her than the costly alabaster box or ointment that she held dear. Do you see the difference?
We have to move beyond our “outer box” Jesus relationships. Jesus allowed Himself to be opened up through the shedding of His blood so that we could be saved. He lived and died so that we could live eternally if we accepted Him. It’s the blood of Jesus that was shed for the remission of sin which is the reason for this season.
Many of you remember the famous Christmas story “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. There are several variations of stories as to how Mr. Dickens came to write this story. What they all agree on is that he wrote this play after witnessing what was happening with the children of poor families, especially those kids who were not able to attend school. He witnessed children living like stray dogs scavenging through in sub-zero temperatures with few people being willing to do anything about it. After seeing those children living in those conditions, he decided that he must do something. He wrote a pamphlet entitled “An Appeal on Behalf of the Poor Man’s Child.” What is interesting is that when Mr. Dickens wrote this pamphlet he actually reflected on some of the low points in his own life as a child. He never released the pamphlet and it is believed that he did not do so after hearing the voice of God. It was said that God told him that if he published the pamphlet it would do good for a season; however, if he wrote the story that God would tell him, it would bring good for all time. Thus in 1843, he wrote the story with the main character being an old, unsympathetic, and wealthy miser by the name of Ebenezer Scrooge. You know the story that Scrooge was on his way to hell before he was visited by three spirits that led him to a heart change. He went from being a stingy, unsympathetic miser to a man of love who gave to everyone, especially to the poor whom he had previously despised. Ebenezer did not start off this way, he became this way based on circumstances in his life. Life’s circumstances and harshness changed him for being a giving person who loved freely to one who defined himself by the money he earned and had no use for anyone else. After he was visited by the three spirits, one that showed his past (before his change); one that showed his present (after he changed) and one that showed his future (if he did not change) Ebenezer changed. He became the man that everyone wanted to know and be like. This story has never been out of print in 175 years since it was first published.
As I close this morning I want you to think about your relationship with Christ during this Christmas season. Is your relationship an “outer box” Jesus relationship based on limited interactions with Him or do you have the “gift inside the box” relationship? Remember, in order to share the gift inside the box, we must open the box to remove the gift. We must break the seal; untie the ribbons; and tear off the paper. Jesus is in your box just waiting to be opened and shared with the world.
May God bless and keep you. Merry Christmas! Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
