Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)

The season is upon us again. Yes, you got it, it is Christmas time! I suspect you already know that – you can’t miss the buzz. One of the earliest signs of approaching Christmas was far back in August. Then I was out shopping at a branch of a major supermarket chain and noticed they had put up some Christmas products for sale. I thought that was unusually early for Christmas. However, that really should not have come as a surprise to me or anyone. The commercialization of Christmas is a trend that has been with us and growing for the last few decades. For many, attracted by the masterfully crafted marketing campaign of shops (online and physical), Christmas has become a time of shopping, unapologetic self-indulgence and excesses. Yet, that is not wholly reflective of all activities around the festive period. Amid the festive euphoria, sincere and heart-warming acts of charity and benevolence abound.

Unspeakable indeed is this great gift we have received because it defies conventional logic. Here are just a few things that underscore why this gift is so indescribable.

First, we are ordinary humans – Why should God care? We are neither greater than God, nor are we his contemporary. So, why did he consider us – creatures of his hands, mere mortals – to be deserving of such extreme benevolence? If the giver were human, then one might be forgiven to think the act was a mistaken identity and perhaps the gift was meant for some superior being. But this was God’s clear and purposeful deed, and he does not make mistakes. The psalmist shares this bewilderment as he queries in Psalm 8:4, “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”.

Second, we were sinners – Why did we count? The Apostle Paul highlights the enigma of God’s indescribable gift in Romans 5:6 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. Remember, we are told in Romans 6:23 that “that the wages of sin is death”. So, as sinners, we were very much deserving of punishment – death, but certainly, NOT the unspeakable gift we received from God.

Third, we were the debtors – Why did he pay for us? What God did was more than just writing off our debt (the value of which was death) – he actively paid for it. As the song (“He Paid a Debt” by Conrad Fisher) goes, “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay”.  God, “… gave his only begotten Son…” John 3:16. The enormousness of the price God paid is captured in Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed”.     

Fourth, it cost God his only begotten son – Why did God pay such a hefty price for us? Basic economics teaches us that the price we pay for anything depends on how we value that thing.  Now, consider John the Baptist.  Jesus testified that “among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). But John himself, speaking of Jesus the Messiah, testified that he (John) was not worthy to untie the straps of his (Jesus) sandals (Luke 3:16). Yet, God chose to lavish his son’s life on us? From a human point of view, God did not seem to be getting any bargain from the deal. God (who formed man out of the dust of the earth) could have simply destroyed humanity and started a new race of people from scratch at a much lower cost.

Fifth, God gave us a gift that keeps giving – How do we possibly deserve these gifts? Usually, an erring person would be grateful to get off unpunished. But, to then, receive gifts (an endless pack of blank cheques) in addition to undeserved acquittal at the end of it all?  That is unprecedented. Nevertheless, that is what we got. Ephesians 4:8  says, “This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people”. The gifts that follow are on account of the first gift – His only begotten son. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” That may sound like a question, but for the avoidance of any doubt, we are given the affirmative answer in Ephesians 1:3 – the bible says, “….the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

I hope we can now appreciate why this gift is so indescribable. But then, why did God give us such an indescribable gift? Because God is love. Love is the reason why we have this indescribable gift from God -“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son….” God demonstrated this love to us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). That love has no conditions or strings attached, and it does not depend on anything outside of God (our good behavior or qualifications etc.) for its expression. It is divine and dynamic. 1 John 4:10  says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins”. That is love at its purest, excellent love.  This kind of love inspires unwavering confidence (Psalm 36:7) as the bible put it in 1 John 4:16 – “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love”.  For those who have received this precious gift, my prayer for you in this season is that you will do what the bible says in Jude 1:21 – “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”.