Many of us will both give and receive gifts at Christmas. We will thank people for their gifts, explaining what their gifts mean to us. We might show off the gifts sitting under the tree to people who come to visit during the holiday season. We will possibly describe to long-distance friends or family what we were given, especially the gifts we most value.
Describing an Indescribable Gift
Gift-giving and receiving has long been a part of the Christmas tradition. The very first Christmas gift, came in the form of a baby who was wrapped in swaddling clothes. Try as we might to describe this gift, we will never fully be able to explain it.
This was a gift motivated by a love so wide, long, high, and deep that we will never fully understand, let alone describe, it. (Eph. 3:18)
This was a gift given once for all, a gift that keeps on giving and is for all who will receive it, difficult to understand and describe its all-sufficiency. (Heb. 7:26-28; 10:10)
This was a gift given sacrificially for undeserving people, at a cost only One person could ever pay, something beyond our normal life experiences. (Rom. 5:6-11)
This was a gift given without strings attached, a gift that can only be received through faith because it was given by grace, something our works-oriented brains have a difficult time wrapping around. (Jn. 1:12-13; Eph. 2:8-9)
How do you respond to such an indescribable gift? We can start with expressions of gratitude. — Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:15)
This post forms the basis for one of the sessions in the Christmas Reminders Curriculum for adult classes.