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Gift Wrapped
II
Cor. 9:15; Luke 2:7
"Thanks be unto God for his
UNSPEAKABLE gift.''--II Cor. 9:15.
"For the wages of sin is
death; but the GIFT OF GOD is eternal life.''--Rom.
"And she brought forth her
firstborn son, and WRAPPED him in swaddling clothes.''--Luke 2:7.
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 distinct 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. This is not just my opinion:
This is a scientific fact based on a statistical survey I conducted
of two guys I know. One is my
dad, who says the only time he ever wraps a gift is, quote, "if it's such a
poor gift that I don't want to BE there when the person opens it.''
The other was a college
room-mate, who told me he does wrap gifts,
but as a matter of
principle never takes more than 15 seconds per gift.
Then
there’s me…no one ever has to ask which gifts I wrapped…"They are the ones
that look like enormous spitballs or other objects!''
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.)
On the
other hand, if you give my wife a 12-inch square of wrapping paper, she can
wrap a C-130 cargo plane. My mother, like many women, 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 in 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!
[he
almost retorted that she was a
white elephant gift, and then thought better of it!]
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 Abraham a promise
concerning his seed. It would be as the sands of the sea, as the dust of the
ground, as the stars of the sky.
God gave Sarah a precious
miracle child in her old age, and she named him Isaac.
God gave Isaac the promised
ram to take his place on the sacrifice altar on
God gave Jacob twelve sons
who were destined to become heads of the twelve tribes of
God gave Joseph a position
as prime minister in
God gave Moses the power to
work miracles before Pharaoh.
God gave the Israelites
possession of the land flowing with milk and honey.
God gave kings to preside
over His chosen people.
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
James states, "Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father
of lights'' (James
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
Paul states, "He that
spared not his own Son...shall he not with him also freely give us all
things?'' (Rom.
He later stated to Timothy,
"Neglect not the gift that is in thee'' (I Tim.
To the Ephesians he said,
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God'' (Eph. 2:8).
2 Cor. 9:15
Thanks be unto God
for his unspeakable gift.
It is very obvious that
Jesus is God's
greatest gift to us. Let us unwrap the gift to find out what God
has for us.
I.
GOD WRAPPED UP HIS GIFT IN OLD TESTAMENT MYSTERY
Jesus can be found in every
book of the Bible. In the Old Testament He is found everywhere when you
begin to consider or unwrap the types, shadows, pictures and symbols. You
can find Him in the sacrificing of the animals, the metals of the
Tabernacle, the colors of the garments, and a thousand other places; but you
will need to unwrap Him by meditation and study.
He is the "Seed'' spoken of
in Genesis 3:15. His heel shall bruise the head of the serpent.
He is the
He is the "Sceptre'' spoken
of in Numbers 24:17 to rise out of Jacob and smite the corners of
He is the "Prophet'' of
Deuteronomy 18:15 to be raised up out of the midst of the brethren, to be
hearkened unto.
He is the one conceived by
a virgin according to Isaiah 7:14, the "Immanuel'' of Isaiah 9:6 that shall
be called "Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.''
He is the "Messiah'' that
shall come forth only to be "cut off'' according to Daniel 9:26.
He is the "Ruler'' in
He can be found everywhere
if we only take time to unwrap the gift.
II.
MARY WRAPPED UP GOD'S GIFT IN THE MANGER
"She...wrapped him in
swaddling clothes.'' These are precious words. They can be felt best by a
mother who has felt what Mary felt. But there is more wrapped up in those
swaddling clothes than a little baby.
First,
wrapped up in this
little Baby is:
the fulfillment of all
the Old Testament.
Every truth, every teaching, every type concealed in the Old Testament is
being held in the arms of Mary. To understand the story of Moses smiting the
rock, the brass serpent on a pole, the manna in the wilderness, Jonah and
the whale, or to get any sense from the Psalms of David or the Proverbs of
Solomon, you will have to watch closely what happens to this little Baby.
Second, wrapped up in this
little Baby is the
fullness of Almighty God. The God who created the heaven and
earth, divided the Red Sea, appeared in the burning bush, delivered Daniel
from the lions and the three Hebrew boys from the fiery furnace, is sleeping
in the arms of Mary, wrapped in swaddling clothes.
John explains that "the
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.''
Paul declares, "In him
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily'' (Col. 2:9).
He said Himself, "I and my
Father are one'' (John
Third, wrapped up in this
little Baby is the
future of all who would believe.
The destiny of all men
rests in their attitude and relationship to the little Baby. He has come to
be their Savior or else their Judge.
He is only a little Baby in
Mary's arms, but He will soon confound the doctors in the
III.
SATAN WRAPS UP GOD'S GIFT IN IGNORANCE
Man will never know what is
wrapped up in the gift if Satan has his way.
First,
Satan has blinded
the minds of men to the true value of the gift
2 Cor. 4:4
In whom the god of
this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them.
To the natural eye God's
Gift looks just like any other gift (I Cor.
The natural man receiveth
not the things of God for they are foolishness unto him.
The spiritual eye can see
through the Devil's wrapping and see that Christ is more than a great
teacher and reformer. He is the Son of God.
Second,
Satan has bound
men in tradition and religious customs. Thousands who have realized
that the modernistic, social gospel has no hope of Heaven are still tied to
it by fear to step out and stand. Scores have accepted the religion handed
down to them by ancestors, and they proceed through meaningless formalities
and never unwrap the gift.
Third,
Satan has built up
barriers to Christ by sin and confusion.
The more sin and rebellion
in the life, the harder it is to repent. Evil habits and social sins tighten
their grip, and the obstacles between man and Christ get bigger each day.
Satan is wrapping up God's Gift to keep poor sinners from knowing God's
love.
IV.
THE HOLY SPIRIT UNWRAPS GOD'S GIFT FOR ALL WHO BELIEVE
Jesus promised that, when
He went back to the Father, He would send one to teach and reveal the truth
to all. The blessed Spirit of God has come to unwrap the Gift and help us
understand. God's Gift was unwrapped for the shepherds to see. He was
unwrapped for the Wise Men to meet and present their gifts to. He was
unwrapped for Anna and Simeon to behold. He was unwrapped to John the
Baptist by the descending dove in order that he might introduce Him
publicly. He was unwrapped to the disciples by His miracle-working so that
they might believe. He was unwrapped to Mary Magdalene at the tomb; and
after talking to a stranger, she suddenly said, "Rabboni.'' He was unwrapped
for Thomas to see the prints in His hands and feet; and he who did not
believe cried out, "My Lord and my God!'' The same Holy Spirit will unwrap
Him to any sincere heart and show plainly that He is God's Gift to you and
me. Praise God for His unspeakable
Gift!
And thank God after we have
received the gift of eternal life, the gifts keep on coming…He came to give
us life more abundant! We should
unwrap all of God’s gifts:
When you share your
testimony, you are unwrapping the gift for someone else.
When you:
Volunteer to serve/invite
to church/pray with a friend/make a spiritual decision or commitment/bite
your tongue [or is that NOT unwrapping the gift?!]
What
we are is God’s gift to
us…what we become is our
gift back to God!
May others see the gift IN
us…watch it unfold before their eyes…then share the gift w/ them!
During the Second World War
the allied army was advancing through
The war of ages has been in
progress since Satan's rebellion against God. Then Baby Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judaea. He will give eternal peace to all who will put their
trust and faith in Him. Friend, unwrap God's Gift and accept it from God
right now!
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