A Christmas Devotional By Darlene ZschechSampl

The Gift

Years ago, in the midst of receiving many farewell gifts, a little nondescript box was hidden in the mix of the larger box that contained it all. I read every card, all the sentiments, and actually allowed myself a couple of days, moments here and there to process it all. And somehow in all the paper, this little nondescript box had been hidden in the corner. It wasn't until I went to throw the larger box away, that it tumbled out.

It was shaped and even felt to be about the weight of a bottle of perfume, which I love. So I sat down and eagerly opened the box ready to try the new fragrance. But the wrapping uncovered a deep blue velvet box.

I opened it carefully, and inside was a diamond bracelet with a little card. I was amazed at how close this little box came to being thrown away and how the exterior of the gift bore NO resemblance to the worth of what was contained within.

Have you ever just not noticed something because of the packaging? It is common for remarkable gifts to arrive in unremarkable packaging, just like one did in Bethlehem.

No one expected the long-awaited Saviour to come the way He did, but we see Paul writing in Philippians 2: 5-11, The Message (MSG):

5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honour of God the Father. 

Paul was not writing a Christmas message, he was actually counselling a church. Yet he is reminding the church to never disregard the message of Christ, which affects all aspects of our lives, or the people of God, because you don't understand the package it comes in. Paul was asking the church family to “get along,” to seek humility. To be like the One whom we are following and who modelled for us the abundant love of the Father.

There are many who wear earthly crowns...some deserved, some not, many whose names carry weight...some deserved, some not.

But The Word of God tells us again and again, that the One born in the most humble of circumstances actually carries that name that is above every other name, and as Paul reminds us, “At the name of Jesus, EVERY knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, EVERY name will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

There are those who mock the name of Jesus, they renounce their need of a Saviour and mock those who believe in Christ. They are self-sufficient, independent, self-made and self-reliant. Ask them to humble their hearts before Jesus and they will laugh at you. I can say that because that was many of us, including me, before we invited Jesus into the manger of our hearts, to become the centerpiece of our lives.

But a day is coming, as it says in Isaiah 45:24, “when all who have raged against Him will come to Him and be put to shame…”

Nothing else will matter. 

C.S. Lewis said this: “God will invade...and when that happens, it's the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage, we all know that play is over. For this time will be God without disguise…something so overwhelming that it will strike irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature…it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen.”

 

The story of Christmas is the story of God's relentless love for us all. Let Him love you to life. If God himself was willing to be wrapped in rags, to be dependent on a young woman to nourish Him, to lay aside His crown to be born in a cradle and then willingly lay down His life for us on a cross, then be encouraged today that the LOVE OF GOD toward us all is SO great, there is no place He will not go, there is no person beyond His reach, there is NO limit to His love.

This is why I LOVE CHRISTMAS. That God would become one of us, so that we might become one with Him.

All you need to do is ask Him in.

Listen to God whispering to your heart today, reminding you of His perfect love toward YOU right now, always and ever. If you are longing for PEACE in this life, you will never find it in more things, you will never find it in other people, in cash, in drugs, in short term pleasures…Peace is not found in these things. Peace is found in Jesus. Peace is a matter of trusting in Him. Anxiety is a function of divided attention. We make ourselves anxious when we strive, worry, struggle; and peace on earth feels like a light, no depth, unavailable expression paraded about at the Miss World pageant. Yet the Bible says in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you…my peace I give to you, not as the world gives, give I to you. LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED, DON'T LET IT BE AFRAID.”

Remember my little box. It looked like nothing significant yet held diamonds and a gift of love. Don't think something as simple as a prayer, seemingly insignificant, cannot change your life. Perfect peace...ask Jesus in to be the centerpiece of your life today. This will be your greatest Christmas gift.