A small boy was writing a letter to God about the Christmas presents he badly wanted. “I’ve been good for six months now,” he wrote. But after a moment’s reflection he crossed out “six months” and wrote “three.” After a pause that was crossed out and he put “two weeks.” There was another pause and that was crossed out too. He got up from the table and went over to the little crib scene that had the figures of Mary and Joseph. He picked up the figure of Mary and went back to his writing and started again: “Dear God, if ever you want to see your mother again…!”
This is the time of year when we think back to when the Three Wise Men went to see the baby Jesus, and, according to the Book of Matthew, “presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” These are simple words, but if we analyze them carefully, we discover an important, yet often-overlooked, theological fact: In this account: There is no mention of wrapping paper!
If there had been wrapping paper, Matthew would have said so: “And lo, the gifts were encompassed about with 7 square cubits of paper. And the paper was covered within and without with pictures of Frosty, a man of snow. And Joseph purposed in his heart to cast the paper into the barrel of refuse, but Mary saith unto him, ‘Cease man! Drop the decorative parchment! It should be set aside for future generations!’ And Joseph didst roll his eyeballs. And it came to pass that the babe WAS more interested in the paper than the frankincense.”
…But these words do not appear in the Bible, which means that the very first Christmas gifts were NOT wrapped. This is because the people giving those gifts had two important characteristics: 1. They were wise. 2. They were men. Men are not big gift wrappers. Men do not understand the point of putting paper on a gift just so somebody else can tear it off.
No one ever has to ask which gifts I wrapped…I just can’t figure out why? For some reason, I can never COMPLETELY wrap them. I can take a gift the size of a deck of cards and put it the exact center of a section of wrapping paper the size of a regulation volleyball court, but when I am done folding and taping, you can still see a sector of the gift peeking out. (Sometimes I camouflage this sector with a marking pen or scotch tape, or another piece of wrapping paper that looks completely out of place.)
On the other hand, if you give my wife a 12-inch square of wrapping paper, she can wrap a C-130 cargo plane. I think she actually LIKES wrapping things. If she gives you a gift that requires batteries, she wraps the batteries separately, which to me is bordering on mental illness.
My point is that gift-wrapping is one of those skills -- like having babies - that come more naturally to women than to men.
Here’s some GIFT-WRAPPING TIPS FOR MEN.
Whenever possible, buy gifts that are already wrapped.
The editors of Woman’s Day magazine recently ran an item on how to make your own wrapping paper by printing a design on it with an apple sliced in half horizontally and dipped in a mixture of food coloring and liquid starch. They must be smoking crack!
If you’re giving a hard-to-wrap gift, skip the wrapping paper! Just put it inside a bag and stick one of those little adhesive bows on it. This creates a festive visual effect that is sure to delight the lucky recipient on Christmas morning:
YOUR WIFE: Why is there a Hefty trash bag under the tree? YOU: It’s a gift! See? It has a bow! YOUR WIFE (peering into the trash bag): It’s a leaf blower. YOU: Gas-powered! Five horsepower! YOUR WIFE: Thanks a lot!
YOU: Actually, I’m God’s gift to you. YOUR WIFE: I don’t think God does gag gifts!
Remember that the important thing is not what you give, or even how you wrap it. The important thing, during this very special time of year, is that you save the receipt.
Man doesn’t know much about wrapping, but man has learned all that he knows about giving from God. God is in the giving business.
• God gave Adam and Eve a piece of skin from an innocent animal to replace the fig leaves and cover their shame of nakedness.
• God gave Noah a plan for the ark that would provide for the saving of his household when judgment came.
• God gave Sarah a precious miracle child in her old age, and she named him Isaac.
• God gave the Israelites possession of the land flowing with milk and honey.
• God gave prophets to plead with His people and tell them of amazing things to come.
• God gave the Scriptures to prophesy of a Messiah who would come to deliver and save.
• God gave the shepherds a pronouncement by the angels that Jesus was born.
• God gave the Wise Men a star to lead them to the young Child with their gifts.
• God gave Joseph the patience to understand the strange circumstances of a virgin with child.
• God gave the world the Prince of Peace.
• God gave Jesus the place of sinners on the cross to bear the sorrow and shame, and Jesus gave his life for sinners. God offers to give all men the pardon for their sins that they might know the joy of everlasting life.
Surely God is a great Giver. Mankind can learn a lot about giving from Him.
John tells us that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
James states, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.” (James 1:17)
Jesus told the woman at the well, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” (John 4:10)
Paul states, “He that spared not his own Son…shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32)
Paul said to the Ephesians, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8)
I say with Paul, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” (2 Corinthians 9:15)
This morning I want to help you with your Christmas shopping and I want to talk to you about God’s great Christmas gift to us.
If you are looking for the perfect gift for that “someone special” make sure you buy a…
I. Personal Gift.
When we shop our gift should be a personal gift. We are not shopping for ourselves. When I go to Wal-mart, I go to the hunting section or electronics to get some gadget for my computer. But my wife would not appreciate it if I got here a new set of broad-heads. That just does not interest her. She may want clothes, but she does not want a new camouflage suit. You see, you must buy the person you are shopping for a personal gift. A gift that fits the person you are shopping for.
God gave a personal gift by giving his son to die for our sins (John 3:16). He came for everyone. He came for you! He did not just come for the rich. He did not just come for the poor. He did not just come for white people or black. He did not just come for people from the United States. He came for everyone. Red, yellow, black or white. The gift of God’s son was for you. He came and died for you personally. When he came to this earth he became human. He didn’t have to. He was God. When he lived here on earth he was completely human. He felt heartache. He knew loneliness. He was tempted. He longed for companionship. He felt hunger. He knew what it was like to be tempted by women. When he left his earthly father’s carpenter shop I am sure that he probably thought, “maybe I should wait, I could do it later-I am sure that he did not want to leave the comfort of home for what he knew was going to come. Maybe he thought that maybe he should come back and die for another generation when crosses where out of style.
We don’t like to think of Jesus in the human. We don’t like to think about God being hungry. God being tempted by a woman. It almost seems sacrilegious. But he was completely human. The nails hurt his hands just like they would hurt yours. So why did he do it? He did it because he looked across time and he saw you. He saw your heart; he saw how you needed a Savior. So he gave the gift of himself.
His gift is personal – He gave Himself for each and every one of us. So, make sure you buy a personal gift this Christmas, but may I also suggest that you purchase a…
II. Practical Gift.
When we go Christmas shopping for those we love, it doesn’t have to be the best or the most expensive gift, as the old saying goes ‘it’s the thought that counts.’ (Which I’ve never really understood because if I told my wife I thought about buying her something for Christmas and then didn’t…)
Our gift’s should be practical, not as the one lady said to her husband, “this year let’s give each other more practical gifts like socks and fur coats.”
Two young boys were discussing the upcoming Christmas season and all of the toys they hoped to receive. One kid explained to the other, “Money can’t buy happiness, you know. To be happy, you have to convert the money into toys.”
You know what it’s like to get a gift that you really don’t want or can’t use. You see them in the stores. All of us have got them. The stores are full of “junk” gifts. You know, the kind of stuff you buy because you don’t know what to buy…like a life size singing deer head to hang on your wall – the thing costs $100!!! Some people buy gifts like fruit cake. What can you use fruit cake for?? You can’t eat it, it’s so nasty. I heard one man say fruit cake was so bad he tried to give it to his dog but he wouldn’t eat it, so finally he discovered that it makes a great door stop.
Jesus has given us the most practical gift of all, eternal life for those who turn to him. It is something that we all need. It is something that we all must have. Without it we die and go to hell. With it, we live eternally. How much more practical could you get?
Let me ask you this morning, have you ever sinned? Do you have sin in your life now? There is no gift that you could ever need more than the gift of eternal life.
Buy a practical gift, and remember that Jesus gave us the best gift anyone could ever receive.
III. Pleasing Gift.
The gifts that we give should be something that would please the one we are giving the gift to. I wouldn’t want to give my wife or mother a rifle for Christmas because I know that is not a gift that would please her. We all know what happens to gifts that we don’t really care for. They get put on a shelf somewhere to collect dust, or in the case of fruit cake it gets given to the dog.
I can witness to you this morning that there is no great gift that has been given to me than the gift of Jesus. God gave us the pleasing gift we could ever ask for in the gift of his son. What more could we ask for? You know, you don’t need all of the “stuff” you have on your Christmas list. The only real need any of us have is salvation, and Jesus Christ has provided it. I can tell you that He has satisfied the deep longing of my heart. It is the only gift that has ever been given that is still pleasing today!
Jesus Christ is the great example when it comes to giving pleasing gifts. His gift is pleasing!
IV. Permanent Gift.
The gifts that we give should be something that is permanent and of lasting value. Not something cheaply made that will break the first day it is used.
Did you hear about the guy that bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas? A friend of his said, "I thought she wanted one of those sporty 4-Wheel drive vehicles." "She did," he replied. "But where am I gonna find a fake Jeep?"...
Also it should be something that will at least keep the interest beyond Christmas day alone. We have all seen children who get all kinds of nice expensive gifts for Christmas and by the end of the day they are playing with the boxes.
Our gifts that we give should be permanent. God gave us the permanent Gift of eternal life (John 10:28-And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”) There is really nothing else that we could ever ask for our desire that is higher than this gift. Jesus laid down his own self so that we could have this permanent gift. He wrapped himself in human flesh and took on man. He bore our sins and took our shame. The King of all Kings was born in a little stable. What a welcome to our earth. He did all this so that we could have this permanent gift.
V. Purchased Gift
It’s always a good idea to purchase the gift your going to buy and not just walk out of the store with it. So make sure you pay for your gifts!!
However, Jesus has already purchased the greatest gift for us and that is of salvation.
Romans 5:15, “But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.”
James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
What is the best gift you could give this Christmas? Your heart.
The reason Jesus was born in a manger is lost in the tinsel of this holiday’s celebration. In the midst of all of the shopping and gift-giving, we often lose sight of the real gift of Christmas – the fact that God purchased our salvation with His own blood so that we could be saved.
An evangelist had held a service, at the close of which a little girl presented a bouquet of flowers, the first spring had brought forth. He asked her, “Why are you giving me these flowers?” She answered, “Because I love you.” He then asked her if she gave Jesus such gifts of here love. She said, “Oh, I give myself to him!”
That surely is the highest kind of giving, and without it, all other giving is in vain.
Conclusion:
Just as we give gifts during this Christmas season, Christ Jesus has given the ultimate gift for our sins. His gift is personal, practical, pleasing, permanent, and he has already purchased it for us this Christmas season. And just as we accept gifts for ourselves this Christmas, we should accept the gift of eternal life though Jesus Christ. In order to do this you must admit that you have sinned. You must repent of your sins (change of mind and directions), and believe in Jesus Christ. So this Christmas if you have not already accepted the gift that He offers to you, why don’t you do so this morning? This is the real reason for the season!
I hope that these five little pointers will be a help with your Christmas shopping this year. More importantly, I hope that you will accept the free gift from God sent to you personally – the gift of his Son.
If you have already done that, why don’t you do it this Christmas season??
What have you done with God’s Son?
The original idea for this sermon came from a sermon preached by the Rev. Jacob Martin. Part of the outline is based on the sermon which I heard him preach.
I also received help for this sermon from the website material by Jerry Shirely.
The illustrations in this message are from various sources.
