For all know that all of our gifts for Christmas will not be equal. We may
have one or two big gifts, which are the center of our excitement, but there are
also a number of smaller gifts that wet our appetite for the grand finale when
we get to the one that is the biggest. No child is satisfied until they reach that
biggest or best gift. That is, no child that is mature enough to know the
difference between the trivial and the tremendous. Very little children do not
have a system of values, and so they may be just as excited about the ribbon,
the colored paper, or an empty box as they are about the finest gift. We laugh
at them and excuse them, for we know they do not understand value.
We would feel bad, however, if an older child got so excited about a
59-cent plastic toy and ignored the 59-dollar gift we got for them. If they went
to their room with their trivial toy and didn't even care to open their best gift,
we would feel bad, not only because of all we paid for it, and all we did to get it
wrapped, but because they would be missing out on something tremendous that
we want them to have and enjoy. In other words, everybody loses when we
choose the trivial instead of the tremendous.
I read of a wealthy merchant who decided to do a beautiful thing for a poor
friend. He gave him some gifts and a sealed envelope. The man was so excited
about the gifts he got that he forgot to open the envelope. The wife found it the
next day in the pile of wrapping paper, and she put it in a dresser. It was a
year later when they received word that the wealthy merchant had died. She
remembered the envelope from him and got it out and gave it to her husband.
When he opened it he was shocked at what he found. It was a blank check
signed by his friend. He was free to fill in any amount he desired. He quickly
filled in the blanks for several thousand dollars and rushed to the bank, but to
his utter dejection he learned that the account had been closed, and all his
possessions had passed to his heirs. He could have been rich, but he remained
poor because he focused on the trivial rather than the tremendous gift. This
sad story is repeated over and over again when people ignore God's greatest
gift.
James 1:17 says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and
comes down from the Father of lights.." All gifts are gifts from God, and so we
need to be thankful for all we have received, even the trivial ones. Be thankful
even that little kids can even have so much fun with an empty box, but
remember God also has a best gift. God is like that wealthy merchant. He
gives so many things, but with the many he gives us the one that can make us
rich. II Cor. 8:9 says, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through
His poverty might becomes rich." God wants all of us to be rich, but the only
way this can happen is for us to focus on the tremendous gift, and not the
trivial gifts. The entire Bible has its focus on this greatest of gifts. In the Old
Testament we see-
I. THE PROMISE OF THE GREATEST GIFT.
In Isa. 9:6 we read, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." This
was the hope of the Old Testament from the beginning to the end, that God
would send the Messiah to win for man the battles he could never win on his
own. Those are the battles to defeat sin, Satan and death. This was the gift the
people of God always longed for. This gift alone could make them rich as
children of God. This gift alone would set them free and enable them to walk
in the light and be reconciled to God. This promise of God's greatest gift was
the foundation of Old Testament faith. When we come to the New Testament
we see-
II. THE PRESENTATION OF THE GREATEST GIFT.
God had been giving good things to man all through history, but
Christmas becomes the greatest day in history for giving, for on that day God
presented to the world His greatest gift. The angels announced it was good
news to all people, for that day God presented to the world His very best. He
cared enough to give the very best, and that is why He gave His Son to be our
Savior. This is what it means to be rich, for one who is truly rich is one who
has salvation purchased, and Jesus purchased it for all who will trust in Him.
All who do not have a Savior are terribly poor, for they are so far in debt they
can never get out. They owe God a perfect life of obedience, or they own Him a
sacrifice that would pay for all their sin.
We know that all the blood of all the animals in the world could not take
away one sin, and so those without a Savior are in debt forever, for there is no
way they can ever pay their way out of debt. The poorest people in the world
are people without a Savior. The richest people in the world are those who are
free of debt. They do not owe anything because all has been paid for them.
Jesus came to make us rich, and those who open their heart to Him become
rich forever. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord." Millions of lesser gifts will not make you rich,
but having God's greatest gift makes you rich for all time and eternity. This
means we must add a third point.
III. THE PARTICIPATION IN THE GREATEST GIFT.
A gift needs two people. It needs a giver and a receiver. God promised the
greatest gift in the Old Testament, and He presented the greatest gift in the
New Testament, but the Christmas story is not complete until we make this
historical event a personal event by participating in the giving and receiving.
John says, "To as many as received Him to them He gives the right to become
children of God." That is what it means to be rich, for a child of God has
forgiveness of sin, salvation, and the hope of eternal riches beyond our
comprehension. That is why Paul says in II Cor. 9:15, "Thanks be unto God
for His unspeakable gift." In other words, when we receive Jesus as our
Savior, we have God's greatest gift, and it is so big, wonderful and tremendous
that there are no words that can adequately describe it. It is so tremendous
that this one gift makes us rich forever. Let us make sure we do not get so
excited about all the trivial gifts and neglect the tremendous gift. Let us be
always thanking God for the greatest gift.
