The Ineffable Gift
The magic word “gift” is on almost every tongue at this season of the year, and not without very good reason.
On a quiet starlight night long, long ago the weary shepherds of Bethlehem kept vigil over their flocks. As the shades of evening fell and night gathered around them, there was nothing to mark that night as an unusual night, distinct from the nights of all the years since man first kept sheep. But that night was different, so different that the world remembers it nearly two thousand years later.
Upon the ears of those startled shepherds fell a voice from Heaven: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). That night God gave the world His Gift! His only begotten Son was born into this world.
Some 30 years later to an earnest seeker after the light of God’s truth, the Saviour declared in detail the story of this wonderful birth, He said: “For 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).
Let us now consider this wonderful gift:
It is a divine gift: No matter who the donor may be of any gift, whether of exalted station or of low status, he is a mere human. This gift comes from God, and all its characteristics are heavenly.
It is a love gift: Some gifts express relationship, some express appreciation, while some may even express a hope of reciprocity. As we have seen already, God’s great Gift expresses,
“Love that no thought can reach,
Love that no tongue can teach,
No love like His:
God is its blessed source,
Death ne’er can stop its course,
Nothing can stay its force,
Matchless it is!”
It is a priceless gift: It is priceless for it is the expression of love; it is timeless for its value extends into Eternity; it is universal for it is offered to all men; it is free for it is without money and without works.
It is an accepted gift: Thousands in our land rejoice for Christ indwells their hearts. There was no room for Him when He was born, but these redeemed ones sing: “O, come into my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee.”
It is a rejected gift: Thousands, sad to say, have room for every thing but Christ. “Not a place that He can enter in the heart for which He died.” No present is actually a gift until one possesses it. May you this day be able to say in sincerity and in truth:
“I know He’s mine — this friend so dear,
He lives with me — He’s ever near;
Ten thousand charms around Him shine,
But best of all, I know He’s mine.”