I recall hearing about a certain singer from a popular band many years ago. He had replaced another popular singer in this band and touted how much better he was than the first singer. His attitude was characterized as “God’s gift to mankind,” in a pejorative sense. He was a male prima donna (not pre-Madonna; this had nothing to do with her).
We are entering the season of gift-giving. For those who celebrate Christmas, the rush is on to find the perfect gift, the one that will appease or please the recipient. In the background lingers Jesus Christ, who truly is God’s gift to mankind, and not in a pejorative sense.
God is a giver. “Every act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). We will examine this passage in a moment.
We are familiar with gifts wrapped in paper and boxes (except for pets, we hope) but have we ever considered human beings as gifts?
The quality of giving and gifts can vary greatly, from the lovingly hand-crafted, personalized quilt to the gift card purchased at the gas station on the way to your Christmas party; from the fancy, expensive trinket to the child’s handmade craft with globs of glue and paint. As the well-worn cliché says, “It’s not the gift but the thought that counts.” A thoughtful gift from a heart of love is the perfect gift.
Christmas celebrates one of the infinite variety of gifts from God to mankind: the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God gave as a sacrifice in our place, to purchase the forgiveness of sins (John 3:16). The son of God was sent to Earth as a human being in a loving act of giving, as the perfect gift. And with God is no variation or change, so that thoughtful gift remains ever perfect and ever powerful.
Lest this seem a bit one-sided, there is more to the story. We all like to receive gifts, but have you ever thought about the possibility of being a gift? You know the saying, “What do you get for the person who has everything?” As the heir to God, Jesus owns everything (John 3:35). What more can be given to him? You!
When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior from sin, you become a gift from God the Father to the Son, who said. “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Because God never changes, the promise of eternal life in Christ is forever sure. There are no porch pirates in heaven.
God’s gift to mankind was no last-minute afterthought. Speaking of true believers at the final judgment, “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). The perfect gift was prepared for us when the world was created!
Part of the beauty of that transaction is that you don’t need to be wrapped in a pretty bow to come to Christ; he accepts you just as you are. It is God who will provide the wrapping: “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life” (Revelation 3:5).
Whether you observe the gift-giving holidays or not, consider giving your life to Jesus Christ, so that the Father can wrap you in robes of righteousness and give you to Jesus forever.
