THE GIFT BEFORE THE GIFT
Reflection 23 from That Extraordinary Moment: Reflections on the Advent Season by Jon S. Kulaga and Andrea Summers, with prayers by Jim “Umfundisi” Lo
I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11 NIV)
When we think of Christmas, we naturally think of God giving his Son to the world. And, in those moments, we are right to remember John 3:16 ESV, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.” Perhaps the perfect Christmas verse, this simple sentence forms and informs the philosophical foundation for Christmas. It’s the entire Christmas and Easter story in one short phrase. It tells us what God did for us, and it tells us why he did it.
But thirty years before there was John 3:16, there was Colossians 1:16 NIV. “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
Before Christ became the gift to the world— We were God’s gift to Christ.
And John echoes the words of Colossians when he begins his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3 NIV)
Three words: In the beginning.
When Matthew was writing his gospel for his Jewish audience, he traced Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham. Luke, writing his gospel for a Gentile audience, traced Jesus’ lineage back to Adam. But John traced Jesus’ lineage all the way back to the time before there was time—to the very pre-existence of the Trinitarian Godhead. “In the beginning” (John 1:1 NIV)—the exact same phrase as Genesis 1:1 NIV.
In other words, before Christ came to earth as God’s sacrificial “gift” to humanity—we, along with all of creation—were gifts for him. God didn’t give Jesus to the world at Christmas time for us to use him and do something with.
God gave the world—and us—to Jesus so he could do something with it that would bring his Father glory.
Christmas is a time for giving. We celebrate the prophets and their giving us the promises of a coming Messiah. Elizabeth gave her praise. Mary gave her body. Joseph gave his reputation when he stood tall and defended his young wife. The innkeeper gave his stable. The shepherds gave their time.
But in order for us to fully enter into the Advent experience and celebrate it for all its worth and meaning, we must become the first gift. We must become the gift before the gift. We must surrender to him. We must detach ourselves from all the “created things” that surround this season because if we don’t, we will end up seeing all these things as oriented toward ourselves. We become the end.
But we are not the ones who give things meaning. Only God can give things meaning. As we gift ourselves to him, our lives reflect the truth that Christ is the end and source of all meaning.
Three more words: Without. Him. Nothing. (John 1:3 NIV)
Without gifting ourselves to him, we will accomplish nothing. Without joining his story, our story will have no ultimate meaning. He is what gives our journey its ultimate purpose.
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a wise man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him? Give Him my heart.
-Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
He can take our mess—and make it into a message.
He can take our pain—and turn it into praise. He can take our dying—and turn it into a resurrection. And yes, God gave his Son.
But who should be the real gift this Christmas?
What can I give the LORD for all that he has done for me?
Psalm 116:12 ERV
Prayer
Creator God, what a wondrous realization that you created us to be gifts to Jesus Christ. As we recognize this, may we continually be willing to surrender our whole heart to him.
Thank you for the promise that by doing so we discover ultimate meaning and ultimate purpose as we journey through this life. Amen.
If you found this devotional moving, consider journeying through this Advent Season with The Extraordinary Moment: Reflections on the Advent Season by Jon S. Kulaga and Andrea Summers, with prayers by Jim “Umfundisi” Lo.
Questions for Reflection from Advancement
In Christmases past, what gifts have made a lasting impact on you? What made them so meaningful?
How has Christ been a gift to your world? What has He freed you from so that you may live fully in Him?
This Christmas season how can you intentionally make yourself a gift, surrendering your heart to His will?
In what specific ways can you act on this surrendered heart and give generously?