The Gift of Belonging (Love)
December 21/22, 2002
Intro:
It is by far the strongest force in the universe.
It is higher than the highest mountain.
It is deeper than the deepest sea.
It is better than the best bey blade or newest groovy girl.
Better than a new cell phone.
Better than a $500 Gap gift certificate.
Better than a box of Callebeau chocolates and a dozen red roses.
Better than new power tools, a big screen TV, and a remote car starter.
It is better than catching the biggest fish or putting for an eagle on the home hole.
It is better than a hot bath with candles and a good book.
It is better than losing 30 pounds.
It is better than seeing The Two Towers on opening day.
It is better than spending the winter somewhere in the sunny southern US.
It is better than a baby that sleeps all night, toddlers who don’t whine, elementary kids who like being with their siblings, teenagers who are appreciative and cooperative, college students who make up for not being able to pay their tuition by helping more around the house, young adults who phone mom twice a week, a spouse who appreciates how hard you work and how difficult your role is, and it is even better than grandkids who visit often and always give you a hug and kiss even when they’re 16.
It is better than a full belly, a full refrigerator, and a full bank account.
It is better than a clean house, clean car, and even a clean conscience.
And today, I want to tell you just a little bit about it.
Galatians 4:1-7 (NLT)
1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves great wealth for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 2They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set.
3And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were slaves to the spiritual powers of this world. 4But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6And because you Gentiles have become his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. 7Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you.
The Gifts of God:
We’ve been walking towards Christmas by thinking each week about one of the gifts God has given us in His Son, Jesus Christ. The first week we talked about the gift of hope – hope because now, God is with us constantly. Second we talked about the gift of forgiveness, which brings peace between us and God and between us and others. Last week we talked about the gift of joy – of a delight in life that runs deeper than pain or pleasure. Today, the last weekend before Christmas, I want to talk about one last gift, a gift that is greater than all the things on your letter to Santa, greater than all the gifts under your tree, even greater than all the desires of your heart.
Have you figured out what it is yet? Let me tell you a story:
2 babies in the manger?
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:
It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room at the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.
Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city.
Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia, were used for the baby’s blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States.
The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy’s manger, was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously.
For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately -- until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn’t, because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.
So I asked Jesus, ‘If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?’ And Jesus told me, ‘If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.’ So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him---for always."
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him FOR ALWAYS.
Now do you know what this greatest gift of all is?
Gal. 4:4-5 (NLT):
4But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
I’ll give you one more hint:
John 3:16 (NLT):
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
The Greatest Gift:
You might be thinking that this greatest gift is Jesus, and you would be partially right (and that is always a safe guess in church…). You’d be getting closer if you are thinking this greatest gift is the invitation to be part of God’s family – the invitation to become one of God’s own children. And you would be closest of all if you thought this greatest gift of all is love – the love of God that sent Jesus to earth, and the love of God that invites us to become a part of His family.
If God were suddenly to appear right now, and actually sit down right next to you, turn towards you, look straight into your eyes – do you know what He would say? Do you know what words would come out of His mouth?? I don’t know everything He would say, but I do have a pretty solid idea of what He would say first. “My child, my precious child – I love you.” How do I know that is what God would say?
The message God has been trying to get through from the beginning:
“I love you” is the message God has been trying to get through to you and me from the beginning.
In the Garden of Eden, He said it through the beauty of creation. By walking with Adam and Eve. By meeting their needs even after they sinned.
In the flood, He said it through the Ark.
In the bad times of the Old Testament, He said it by disciplining the Israelites in the hope that they would learn the best way – the way of obedience
He said it in the manger. “I love you. Here is the gift of my Son.”
He said it on the cross. “I love you. Here is the life of my Son, given for you.”
He said it through the resurrection. “I love you. The penalty for sin is now paid; we can be family once more.”
He said it the first time you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. “I love you. I forgive you. I welcome you into my family.”
He says it each time you ask for forgiveness. “I love you. I forgive you.”
He wants to say it to you again today.
Conclusion:
Whether you are really excited about Christmas, or really struggling this Christmas, God wants you to know that it is really about one simple thing. It is about His love for us. God so loved the world that He sent His Son. When the right time came, God sent his Son, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. The Christ Child, wrapped in blankets and lying in the manger, is God saying, “I love you.” I’m giving you my Son, so that you can become my children.
Have you experienced the love of God for you? Have you become His child – adopted into His family, welcomed into His arms, forgiven and accepted? Let me tell you, it is really simple to do. It is as easy as accepting a Christmas present under your tree with your name on it. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:15-16 tell us that “you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Have you accepted the love of God for you, that longs to forgive you and adopt you? It is easy to receive, it is freely offered. Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem so that we could be forgiven and welcomed into God’s family.
If you have experienced that love in the past, do you need to experience the love of God for you again today? Maybe you’re stressed, discouraged, depressed, frantically worrying that the turkey will never thaw, your spouse will forget to stop for that last present, and your kids will tear through all the gifts without appreciating all the love that comes with them. Or maybe you’re lonely – looking at all the families that are together and at least appearing happy and like everything is hunky dory. Maybe you need to experience the depth of God’s love for you again today. It is just as easy today as it was the first time. It is still offered, still free. The child in the manger offers it to you once again.
Cut through all of the fuss, all of the hype, all of the build up, and you come to the heart of what it is all really about. Get past the shepherds and the angels and the wise men and the smelly stable. Look deeper even than the birth of the Holy child. Christmas is about the love of God that sent His Son. He wants you to know that love. Open your heart. Listen with your ears. Hear in your soul the message God wants you to hear: “I love you. I love you so much that I sent my Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For I did not send my Son into the world to condemn you, but to save you through him. When the right time came, I sent my Son, so that I could adopt you as my very own children. I love you.”
