The hustle and bustle of Christmas has started. Buying the right present for the right person (at the right price!) is on most peoples minds.
A lot of kids have written long lists to Santa, asking what they would like. Some of the more sensible ones – a red bicycle – may get lucky on Christmas morning. Some – a real live unicorn wont.
Many, even believing Christians, mistakenly believe that God is somehow like having their own personal Santa, 365 days a year. They ask for stuff and hope God comes through for them. Have you perhaps, at times wondered why, if God loves you so much, He hasnt given you that job, house, or even a meal to fill your aching belly, or a spouse to fill the hollow emptiness you feel? He must have no interest in me, we reason humanly, otherwise He would prove it. Some of us even take it a step further; If I am a good Christian, then surely God owes me something?
Twisted scriptures
Isnt that what the slick preacher on TV is telling me; or the sincere pastor behind the pulpit? Possibly, but if it is, its one of religions greatest lies. Im sure you have heard the following quoted: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). They make the argument that we are to be physically rich because Jesus humbled Himself, totally missing the point that He is talking about spiritual riches. Jesus was (and is) God, but He gave up all the grandeur of the heavenly realm to reach out and rescue us, walking with us on this dusty earth. We were lost and doomed by sin, but because of His love, we now have riches in heavenly places. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3, emphasis mine). Its important to note the tense that Paul uses here. He has blessed us with spiritual blessings. This isnt some future event that we look forward to, but the reality we live in, now, as Christians.
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health ( 3 John:2 KJV), is also used out of context to teach that Christians are promised health and wealth if they have enough faith. This is a standard greeting of the day, that John uses, not a promise from God to all Christians. In fact, the New Testament usually emphasizes a radically different result of following Christ. We are told that we will be persecuted, that Christs message is divisive, that we will need to take up our cross and follow Him, and that as Christians we will be faced with trials and suffering. John 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you, The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. Job promotions, new cars, and throwing away crutches are not promises offered by Jesus Christ, to those who follow Him, although He is fully able to grant all of these according to His perfect will.
Gifts or the Giver?
Our natural human nature often results in us elevating the gifts over the giver, creation over the Creator. As God created, He proclaimed it all good.
The physical gifts we receive are good, but the physical doesnt define us or His love for us. They are not indications of Gods favour. If we are truly aligned with Him and His will, we realise we are merely stewards of the physical, and that it should all be used to ultimately advance His Kingdom.
Part of the problem with society today is that we pursue and value the benefits of a relationship over the essence of that relationship. How sad to get married simply for the physical benefits of being married. Get married because you cant bear the thought of spending another day apart from the love of your heart, and all the other benefits are a natural consequence of that intimate relationship. Christs words in Matthew 6:33 exactly echo this sentiment. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
God isnt a genie in a bottle that we can summon at will when we have a wish, then conveniently tuck away until next time. He is not your 365 day Santa, there to provide your wish list. When your focus is on God you can enjoy the benefits of that relationship in a meaningful way, and even when physical benefits arent evident, the power of the relationship sustains us.
God gives Himself
Christ came to bring us… God! For Christ also once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). When we understand that God is our goal, we can never be disappointed. When we are in it for the benefits He offers, when those benefits arent immediately evident, we often walk away disappointed, saying things like I tried Christianity and it didnt work for me. That is one of the reasons that throughout the Bible, God has such strong words to say against idolatry. Whenever we put anything above God, even noble benefits such as grace and forgiveness, we are settling for less than He intends and desires for us.
Saint Augustine famously prayed You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You. (Augustine Confessions Book I-IV, Cambridge University, 1995, p84). God gives us the one thing that will never run out, never fail us – Himself!
He did it 2000 years ago when He was born in Bethlehem and He continues to do it today. As we celebrate Christmas, lets look beyond Santa to Him, lets look beyond gifts, to His gift – Himself!