Keeping a Priceless Treasure Hidden
Have you ever been given a gift by someone and never bothered to open it?
Have you carried it around with you for days, weeks, months or even years, never untying the bow or ripping off the paper?
Do you treasure a gift more if it is still a mystery all wrapped up in a pretty package?
No those things would be silly.
As children Christmas and birthdays were always about the presents. Seeing them appear like magic beneath a Christmas tree, or stacked in a pile next to a special chair during a birthday party, always makes young hearts silly with happiness. We shook them, felt the weight of them, assessed the size trying to guess what was hiding beneath the colorful paper and curly ribbons. For some like my sister, the suspense was too much. She would secretly unwrap certain gifts and then slyly re-wrap them, confessing later as an adult to her crimes. We all laughed, but that is the attraction of children and gifts.
As adults we find more joy in giving gifts than receiving them. We anticipate the recipient's reaction. If it is a prank gift, we hope they laugh as hard as we did when we bought it. If it is a heartfelt gift, we hope they don't cry too hard. If we spent a lot of time and effort in wrapping, then we hope it does not go unnoticed. The gift becomes fun for both the giver and the receiver. No gift given has ever gone unwrapped, or has it?
This morning while driving to work, I was listening to worship songs and talking to God as I usually do during my commute. As always my little discussions brought up thoughts and questions and visuals about many different things. Today I was struck with the reality of God's gift to all mankind. The most precious gift ever given came to us in the form of a baby born of humble beginnings. He wasn't born in a palace as a gift of this magnitude should have been. He wasn't attended by a royal court or announced as His Royal Highness Prince of Peace from the palace walls. He was looked over by sheep, shepherds and a poor couple from an obscure town. He was laid in manger on a bed of hay. He was heralded by angels, but only to a select few. The greatest gift that has ever been given. Can you imagine?
Imagine Jesus looking down on all of us. Everyone of us was lost and separated from His love and His presence. Everyone of us is sinful and without God on a path that leads to death and eternal separation. Imagine Jesus seeing all of humanity, past, present and future. He knows intimately each heart and mind and what we long for. Now Imagine Jesus humbling Himself before His father and willingly becoming the child of a poor carpenter and his teenage bride, giving up His royal position for a time to be the greatest gift ever given to ALL who would believe.
Imagine Jesus knowing the gift would be rejected and still presenting himself as ransom for sin.
I am reminded of a story I read once about a young man who had worked with his father on restoring a classic Mustang. His father asked him, "What do you want for your16th birthday?" His answer, the Mustang. His father didn't say anything, and when the boy turned 16 his dad handed him a gift. He opened it only to find it was a box with a Bible inside. He was disappointed to say the least and his disappointment turned into resentment and anger. He put the Bible still in it's box in his closet. Years later when his father died he went home and was looking through his old closet. He found the box with the brand new Bible in it. He was older and more mature and he opened the box. On top of the Bible was the key to the Mustang. His expectations about the gift caused him to reject it based on how it was presented instead of appreciating the thought behind the gift.
We all need forgiveness. We all need love. We all need a relationship with our heavenly Father. Not only is it the most precious gift ever given, but it is the most practical gift ever given. More practical even than the traditional socks and underwear!
Now think of this, not only are there people who will walk away from this gift and not even pick it up, shake it, assess the weight of it or try to imagine it, but there are those who will actually carry it around and speak of the wonder of the gift, having never even opened it. That was the thought that I had this morning, the one that blew my mind and prompted me to write.
I was one of those who picked up this gift years ago. I carried it with me. I showed people some of the time, but mostly I just kept it in my pocket. I knew what was in it. I had been told a million times of the magnificence of this gift. But the ribbon remained tied and the paper securely fastened. One day, when I was really needing to feel love, forgiveness, hope, joy and acceptance, I finally got the courage and opened it. To say that the contents quite literally blew up in my face would be an understatement. This gift has been for me, the final piece to a life of emptiness. I had it in my hands for decades. I protected it, and waved it under people's noses. I would never have done this with a Christmas gift or a birthday gift. So why did I do it with the gift of God that brings salvation and forgiveness?
As children when we received something special we would show it to everyone with such excitement. Why don't we show this gift to everyone? Imagine Jesus heartbroken when we reject His gift, or frustrated when we just carry it around unopened and cling to it without really experiencing all that is offered in the gift. Imagine Jesus wanting us to share the gift and encourage others to receive and open their gifts. Everyone who has received the gift is blessed by the receiving of it, but the real blessing is poured out on others when you finally decide to open it and let it change your life.
Christmas is over. The gifts have been given. Resurrection Day is approaching fast. Don't be left holding on to an unopened gift. Only those bearing the open gift will be welcomed by the giver.
Revelation 22:17 " The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life."
Matthew 7:13-14 "“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord."
John 4:10 " Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
**My apologies if you read this within the first hour after publishing. I had to add something.
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