The Unopened Christmas Gift
The Unopened Christmas Gift
Dr. J. Mike Minnix
Introduction
John 1:11-18 (NKJV) ...
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' "
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
It has been said that anticipation exceeds realization in most cases and certainly when it comes to Christmas gifts. As we mature, however, we begin to anticipate Christmas, not because of what we will get but because of what we will give. Of course, if you shop diligently and spent hard-earned money for a family member's gift, only to see it ignored, it tends to hurt your feelings - perhaps even break your heart.
Have you ever left a Christmas gift unopened? Well, I can tell you that I haven't. In fact, the only Christmas presents that are ever left unopened around our house are those wrapped for someone who does not arrive to receive them. Sadly, however, when it comes to the greatest gift the world as ever known - the Son of God born on Christmas Day - there are many who totally ignore it. They have left the greatest of all gifts – the gift of God’s love wrapped up in His Son, Jesus Christ, unopened.
Let's look today at the nature of God's gift and the way His Gift has been treated.
I. The Lavish Gift
I was reading a catalog some time ago that listed a number of rather lavish gifts. One gift was an airplane that could be purchased for millions of dollars. Another was a ring that was encrusted with diamonds containing a large rare jewel as the centerpiece. You could buy that ring for a tad short of a million dollars. Of course, you can buy a child’s gift for a few dollars and then watch them have more fun with the box it came in than the gift itself.
But, God gave the greatest of all gifts when He sent His Son to be born in Bethlehem’s manager. This gift was the best heaven had to offer. He came to redeem us from our sins and to give us eternal life. For this gift to be effective, however, it must be received. This gift requires some action on the part of the recipient.
The Bible says ...
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
As this verse reminds us, one must receive Jesus by believing in Him as Lord and Savior in order to obtain the benefits. So many today do what what people did when Jesus was on this earth. The Bible states ...
“He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”
He came for YOU. This is your gift, but you must turn from your sin, believe on Him as Lord, trust Him as Savior, and follow Him in commitment in order for the gift to have any effect upon your life. To do otherwise is to leave the gift left unopened.
Understand this, when God sent His Son to live, die, and rise from the dead, He didn't send an angel with a broken wing - No - God sent His one and only Son to give us life, and that more abundantly. I pray no one will walk out of this building today without receiving that which God has given through heaven's inexpressible gift.
But, also, think with me about ...
II. The Lost Gift
Some gifts have a time limit. Have you ever received a gift card, put it aside, and then when you found it in a drawer where you laid it, you discovered that it had expired? Yes, I guess a number of us have done that. What a terrible waste. What an awful neglect.
One Christiam, a 17-year-old young man, was expecting to get a car from his wealthy grandfather. On the appointed day the grandfather handed the teenager a box. The excited grandson tore open the box but was disappointed to find only a leather Bible inside. His grandfather asked, “Do you like it?” The boy answered that he did, but one could see the disappointment on his face. The grandfather told him to be sure to read the Christmas story when he got a chance. The lad said that he would but he actually went home that day and tossed the Bible inside a draw, and never opened it.
A few months went by and the grandfather died. At the funeral a friend of the family asked the young man if he had gotten his new car. The lad replied that he had not received a car for Christmas; he told the man that all he got from his grandfather was a Bible. The friend said, “My dear boy, go home and read Luke, chapter 2, and see what you find there.”
Later that day, when the boy was at home, he opened the drawer, pulled out the Bible and turned to Luke, chapter 2. There he found a letter from his grandfather tucked in the pages of the story of regarding the birth of Christ. He opened it and discovered a key to a brand new automobile. Also, however, he read these words: “The car I have purchased for you is being held by the dealer for 90 days. You must pick it up by that time or you will lose the car.” The boy quickly looked at a calendar. He threw his hands over his face because he had missed the opportunity for the car by just 3 days. He had lost a great gift.
Many people have done the same thing with Jesus. Some have decided to wait for a more convenient time to settle things with God. Sure, they intend to look into this matter about Jesus one day in the future, but then life slips away and the gift is left unopened. Death comes too quickly, and the gift is unopened. You see, there is no guarantee in life for another day - in fact, there is no guarantee of even another hour. I wonder how many have lost life’s greatest gift by putting off the decision to open their hearts to God’s Son. Don’t wait too long, my friend. The gift of God’s Son is only available while you are living. You can’t change your mind after you die. Losing a car is one thing - losing your soul is another!
III. The Lasting Gift
But, for those listening to his message, the gift is still available. You can have the greatest Christmas in your life by accepting Christ as your Savior this very day. The great thing about this gift is that it lasts forever.
Have you ever thought about some of the Christmas gifts you received through years ago? I remember a train my parents gave me when I was 11 years old. How I loved that train. It had a whistle and smoke that puffed from the smoke stack as he rounded the track, crossed a bridge, and pulled into the station. But, where is it now? Long ago it was swallowed up in a garbage dump somewhere among this world’s discarded objects.
My mind goes back now to a beautiful Daisy air rifle, with a leather strap hanging from the stock. I thought I was Roy Rogers when I opened that thing. A red bicycle comes to mind - I wonder what happened to that thing. Numerous other possessions have been relegated to faded memories. But let me tell you the greatest gift I ever received. I accepted Jesus when I was 12 years old (in 1957) and the gift of God’s Son came into my life. The great thing about that gift is that you don't hold it - it holds you! You can't lose it because it is a person, not a thing.
Jesus is a gift that has never faded, in fact that gift has become more beautiful, valuable, and useful in my life each passing day and year. There is an old song that reads, “Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.” I can attest that those words are true.
When I was a boy, I loved children's book and cartoons.
When I was a young man, I enjoyed western stories, movies and more mature stories.
When I grew older, I enjoyed reading about history and science.
As an old man, I don't read children's books anymore, and I don't really go the movies - actually they've become too profane to endure. But there is one book I read when I was a boy, when I was a teenager, when I was man, and now I love it even more in the senior years of life - that book is the Bible. The Bible never grows old. Do you know why? It is the book about Jesus, God's love, heaven, salvation, and all of God's blessings. The one thing that has lasted all these years since I was a boy, is Jesus - His salvation, His Word, His blessings, His promises, His peace, and His presence in my life. Yes, the greatest gift is God's Son - for that is a gift that will last for eternity.
Conclusion
When the Christmas wrappings have been tossed in the trash can ...
When the Christmas tree is outside the house waiting for disposal ...
When the Christmas meals have been eaten and forgotten ...
When the Christmas lights have been packed away for the year ...
ONE THING WILL NOT CHANGE - JESUS WILL EVER BE THE SAME!
He is, after all, “... the same yesterday, today and forever.”
So open your heart to God this Christmas and He will open to you the greatest of all Christmas gifts – the gift of His love and the gift of eternal life in His Son - JESUS CHRIST.
This is the one gift you don’t want to leave unopened.