When Thanksgiving Meets Christmas
2 Corinthians 9;15
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
Do you remember that one special Christmas or that one special Christmas gift from your childhood days? For me, there is one that I will never forget! It had been a difficult year for Mom and Dad, to say the least. Dad had been in and out of the hospital multiple times. Financially, things were beyond tight. It was tough, and I knew that when it came to gifts, it would be a slim year.
There was a bicycle that I had my eye on at a store called The Treasury, and I wanted that bike badly. It was black Huffy dirt bicycle with different colors on the frame of the bike. I could just see me riding that bike on the trails up the street from my house. But I knew that bike was not a possibility, so I dismissed it from my mind. Yet, every time I went into that store I would go back and eye that bike.
Christmas morning came around and all the gifts were given out but there was no bike. I confess I was disappointed, but I knew why, and honestly I understood. Just as we were about to open our gifts, my dad asked me to get something for him on the other side of the room. So, I walked over there and there hidden between two pieces of furniture was the bike. All I remember is that with one leap, I jumped over the couch, over the coffee table and was in absolute ecstasy over that bike.
Words are inadequate to describe what I felt that Christmas morning. And in my heart, I knew that this gift from my parents came with great sacrifice, great love and great responsibility. You probably have a Christmas memory like mine, one that is etched in your memory.
Whenever I hear this verse of scripture, II Corinthians 9:15, I think of that special Christmas! As a child, that gift was indescribable!
This passage of scripture in II Corinthians 9:15 is a beautiful passage but must be understood within the context of another verse of scripture, II Corinthians 8:9. The scripture says in II Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” The gift referred to in II Corinthians 9:15 is Jesus Christ and His salvation.
God’s gift is a free gift of grace. The word “gift” means a “free gift.” When we consider the salvation of Jesus Christ, we realize that God’s salvation gift is free. It cannot be earned. It is not something you are naturally born with because your family members are Christians. It is a free gift for you, personally!
Can I show you two wonderful blessings of this free grace gift?
It is a gift, not a reward.
Salvation is not something we earn or something with which we are rewarded. I cannot keep a set of rules, live a life pleasing enough, or ever do enough good things to be rewarded with salvation. It is a gift, not a reward.
It is a gift, not a loan.
Once I truly and sincerely receive the free gift of Jesus, I have that gift for life. God doesn’t loan me salvation based on my deeds hoping that I will do good. He gives me Jesus knowing I am going to continue to sin.
God’s gift of salvation cost Him the life of His only Son. The Bible says in II Corinthians 8:9 that Jesus, “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor.” Salvation is free, but it’s not cheap. It cost Jesus His own life. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” There is a cost to sin. Don’t ever get the idea that sin is free; it costs death. Your sin and my sin have a price, a price too high for us to pay, which is death. So God decided to pay the price. How you might ask? The answer is the life of His only Son, Jesus.
Think again about the last part of Romans 6:23, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The Bible says it this way in Philippians 2:8, “He (Jesus) humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” God’s gift cost Him the life of Jesus.
Do you know the reason that Jesus gave His life for us? The Bible says that He gave that we might have life everlasting. He gave His life that we might become rich.
Do you know what God does for us when He saves us? He takes us from rags to riches. There is a story in the Old Testament book of II Samuel 9. It is a story of King David and a young man by the name of Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan and the grandson of Saul.
One day David was sitting on this throne considering all of his blessings. Saul and Jonathan were both dead, and David began to wonder if there was anyone in their family left alive. After a careful inquiry, David discovered Mephibosheth, this poor, crippled young man living in obscurity and brought him to the palace. Mephibosheth was fearful and fell on his face before David only to discover that David didn’t want to take his life, he wanted to give him back his life. David returned all of King Saul’s land to him, and assigned him a seat at the royal table to dine with the king whenever he chose.
That is a picture of God’s grace and exactly what Jesus did for each of us. The only proper response to Jesus is to say “Thank you.” The Bible says, “thanks be to God.” And the best way to say thank you is by giving him your life, trusting Him as your Savior and Lord.
I pray today, Thanksgiving Day, will remind you of the incredible gift God gave in the person of His only Son, Jesus. Today, Thanksgiving and Christmas meet!!!
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”