The Unused Gift

"Thanks be to God for for His indescribable Gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15).

A pastor was visiting an elderly woman. When she asked him to get a box of letters for her from a chest, he noticed a lovely quilt hidden away in the drawer too.

"May I take it out and look at it?" When she nodded, he lifted it out and unfolded it. "Where did you find such an exquisite masterpiece?"

"My grandmother made it for me years ago as a wedding gift."

Puzzled, the pastor asked, "Why don't you have this on your bed?"

"Oh, it's too beautiful to use!"

What a shame that the precious gift of love had been hidden away in a drawer for 50 years--preserved, rather than used and enjoyed as it was intended!

During the Christmas season we preserve the memory of the birth of God's indescribable Gift. The Gift God gave to us that first Christmas is beyond the ability of any human language to describe. In fact, the Bible uses many names and titles to describe that Gift. These many names depict the many facets of the character, sacrifice, and supremacy of that great Gift.

The Prophet Isaiah said, 

Jesus, the name given to Mary and Joseph by the angels, means Savior, announcing that He came "to save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:23).

These are just a tiny sampling of the names given in Scriptures for Jesus.

His birth as a tiny baby in Bethlehem was just the beginning of the Gift. He came to walk among us, to experience the human condition, and to die on the cross for our sins. He rose again that we too might share eternal life with Him. Today, He longs to give us peace and joy and counsel and comfort in the midst of life's storms.

Are we taking full advantage of all the facets of this First Christmas Gift?

If not, we are like the the elderly woman whose grandmother gave her the lovely quilt, which she laid away to preserve but never use and enjoy. How sad if all we do is celebrate Jesus' birth once a year but don't claim God's Gift in our lives every day!

What will you do today to appropriate God's indescribable Gift to your life?

Have a blessed Christmas!


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