“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
Once you cut away the fat of American Christmases – this may be the best Christmas verse in the Bible. If you eliminate the trees, lights, wasted money on disposable presents, overeating, etc.... this simple verse summarizes Christmas.
The NIV version uses the word “indescribable” to reference the gift God gave when His only begotten Son was born in a manger in Bethlehem. Other translations use phrases like; “too wonderful for words”, “inexpressible”, and “unspeakable.
If you examine the meaning of Christmas … It is all about God giving that indescribable gift to us. The holiday season should be about our gratefulness for that gift, the value of which we cannot understand, much less describe. The price God paid to rescue us is incalculable… That, coupled with our unworthiness of His love, is mind-boggling.
These are the concepts we should wrestle with every December. Man’s understanding of God’s gift is what brings us the Joy the angels described. The question is, has our culture lost this message in the fog of commercialism and revelry. We sing “Joy to the world”. We eat big meals and share gifts with our families … but have we thoughtfully considered the reason the angels gave for Christ’s coming?
When speaking to the shepherds the angel said, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Here in the south, we would say that statement opens a large can of worms. It should prompt us to ask questions like; what do I need to be saved from? Why can’t I rescue myself? Why would God save me? And once you contemplate the word “Savior”, you must then deal with “Messiah” and “Lord”. What does Messiah mean? Have I surrendered to Jesus as Lord?
These should all be “Christmas Questions”. We should focus our minds on the grandeur of these issues instead of just wondering what is under the tree.
The biggest holiday of the year is all about the answers to these incredibly important and life changing questions… If you don’t know the answers, then you are missing the “too wonderful for words, indescribable, unspeakable, inexpressible” gift the angels triumphantly announced. And if that is the case, you are missing Christmas.
"Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store.”
- Dr. Seuss
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