Thomas A Kempis wrote: A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.
Think about that- when I see the gift of salvation provided in abundance and freely bestowed on me, I have to go beyond the gift of God, and examine what caused Him to want to give it in the first place—the Love of God. So while I value the gift, the gift is only there to lead me to the Love behind the gift.
And therein lies the reason we got trapped into all this commercialism surrounding Christmas in the first place. We got the whole gift thing. That made sense. God gave to show His love—therefore, we can give to show our love. So we give to those we love. At least that’s where it started. But then we began to spread that out a little to include those we appreciate. And then we found out about political correctness, and we expanded it to giving gifts to those we couldn’t afford to offend or else to those by whom we wanted to be thought of more highly.
And the gift giving became the focus, instead of the love behind the gifts. When you separate the value of the gift from the love of the giver, you are left with raw materialism. And then our worth becomes measured by the expense of the gift.
Let’s take a look at John 1 then, and take a look at the Giver of the gift in order to see if we can see the love of the Giver.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, (capital W—but who is this Word?) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. (being with God and also God himself would give us a clue. Next John turns to the function of the Word) 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (Keep your finger there and let’s go back to Genesis 1 and see if that’s true.)
Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Wait—God just said—let there be light and there was light? How did that work?
Psalm 33:6-9 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Did you catch that? By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. Go back to John 1:3-4 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
The Word was the enacting power in the creation story. In Him was life…without Him nothing was made that has been made. But watch this. Jump down to verse 14.
John 1: 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
He, the Word, the Life-giver, the one that made everything that has been made—came down and made his dwelling among us. Why? To offer Himself to us in relationship. To help us understand what God was like.
After centuries of mankind enduring the powerful lies of Satan about what God was like, Jesus came to show us exactly what God was like. And it wasn’t what we thought He would be like at all.
Degenerate human nature says, “Show your power and gain respect!” But the One who had the most power in the universe—the One who, with a word, could create all things, cloaked His power in the guise of a Baby. But Satan knew the potential of that power and tried to have His life snuffed out as a toddler.
Degenerate human hearts crave money and wealth. But the One who had everything and came from a place where gold was so cheap they used it as a paving material for streets and building material for the walls, walked through this life unencumbered by material possessions. And Satan tried to tempt him with everything that man considers important, promising to deliver it all if Christ would only bow down and worship him. But relationship with the Father is what Jesus centered on because it was the source of His strength as well as the heart of His mission. Nothing else was worth having.
So Satan decides that if relationships are what we need, then present before the degenerate human heart a string of them. If one isn’t good enough, cast it aside and grab another. But each one leaves us only more damaged than the last and leaves a string of broken people and relationships in our past. Satan knows that if he can keep them shallow and surface, they will never be as fulfilling as God intended. Jesus chose to focus deeply on that one relationship that mattered—the one with His Father—and that enriched all of the relationships He had with people. It freed Him from the shallow and the surface. It allowed Him to go beyond the outer protective shell that people would throw up around themselves, and penetrate to the heart of each.
It allowed Him to see the need of Zaccheus—not more money or things—but relationship.
It allowed Him to see the need of Nicodemus—not more money or power—but relationship.
It allowed Him to see beyond the sin of the woman caught in adultery with her guilt and shame, and He knew she didn’t need more of that, so He offered grace instead. He offered her relationship. Not one that condemned her away from the presence of God, but one that restored her to God through Himself. And that was beyond comprehension to the degenerate human heart.
John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
John 1:9-10 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
Has life soured for you because you have been living it your own way and now everything is falling apart? Have you been striving for the wrong things, thinking they would be the fulfillment of your dreams, all the while having a nagging knowledge that tells you that the fulfillment will only be temporary? Have you been measuring your worth in dollars and cents with the false god of materialism, yet finding that no matter how much you buy, it leaves you unsatisfied? Do you find yourself in shallow or broken relationships knowing that they won’t truly be the answer, but not willing to let go, simply because you fear being alone?
Then the good news found in Jesus, is that he comes to offer Himself. He's the Right Answer to a mixed-up world. A relationship with the Word (capital W) can allow Him to speak a re-creative word (small w) into your life. He can make you and your world all over again. And He can make it better, richer and with a brighter hope for your future. But it can’t be done apart from Jesus. Any striving for any of these things apart from Jesus will only leave you more broken, more frustrated and more destitute at the end of the day. How do I know?
John 1: 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
That’s where the right answer for your life is found. In Christ. Alone. In Him is life and that life is what can bring light to your life. It can re-orient your priorities, bring fulfillment and purpose to your life, show you what is truly important, and restore relationships and deepen them beyond your wildest hopes, dreams or expectations.
Are you ready to try Him...again? Or perhaps, for the very first time? Then simply ask Him to come in and speak that word into your life. And if you need help knowing what to do next, I'd love to hear from you.
