I’ve got to confess to a certain amount of grinchiness about the Christmas season. It’s not that I hate Christmas, in fact I like it rather a lot. I like having a Christmas tree nicely decorated in the living room. I like having a bit of snow on the ground for a white Christmas. I like the presents. I like the eggnog. I like the cookies—I really like the cookies!
As far as I’m concerned, all those things are good things. But still I have that Grinch-y problem. Do you remember what the Grinch’s problem was? How’d it go again? “The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. (say it with me now) But I think that the most likely reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small.”
It’s not that I don’t like Christmas itself, it’s just that I often have a small heart about it. See, I like being on the receiving end of Christmas. When I was young, my parents were the ones who bought me gifts. My grandmother and aunts were the ones who made the cookies for me to eat (I love the cookies!). Now that I’m older my wife Stephanie is the one who initiates putting up the tree. She’s the one who makes the cookies and the fudge and those great little white chocolate covered pretzels. I get to enjoy all the benefits of Christmas without really having to work for it myself.
But that’s the problem, isn’t it? What’s Christmas about? Is it better to give . . . or to receive? I receive a lot at Christmas, but do I give?
The problem with Christmas isn’t that we don’t receive enough, but that sooner or later we stop giving, we start becoming selfish. We start thinking that just once—just this once—it would be nice if somebody remembered us for a change. We want to receive.
To show just how prevalent this is, let’s take a quick poll. Raise your hand if any of the following describe you:
· You’ve taken people off your Christmas card list because they never bother to send you a card.
· You’ve ever spent time and effort shopping for the perfect little gift for an office or family gift exchange. You’ve poured your soul into it, smiled knowingly when that one person opened your “Secret Santa” gift . . . and then you opened some dumpy little gift that was obviously a last-minute half-effort and thought, “Well, what in the heck is this?”
· You’ve ever taken the family out to look at all the Christmas decorations, and as you’re driving around you happen across one plain, no-decorations house. Just one house in the middle of a string of beautifully decorated houses and you think, “What, are they Jewish? Whatsamatta, they couldn’t even put a reindeer in the yard?”
· You’ve ever become annoyed at the 25th telemarketer that day who asked for a special Christmas donation for their “worthy cause.”
· You’ve ever let a Christmas pass by without once thanking God for His gift of a Savior.
· You’ve ever said to yourself, “Whew! I’m glad Christmas is over! Now I can get back to my normal life!”
Our problem with Christmas isn’t that we don’t receive enough, but that sooner or later we stop giving. It’s a good thing God doesn’t.
The Apostle Paul said, “3So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.” He’s speaking of our tendency to be selfish, to want to receive. “4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”
This “son” that God sent . . . He wasn’t something that was just a one-time gift. He is a gift that is constantly new, that is always fresh. With Jesus Christ in your life you can have God’s best gift every day, because God does not tire of giving Him. God doesn’t stop giving.
God doesn’t stop giving! Stephanie downloaded a song this past week that talked about how the singer wished it could be Christmas every day, and this is exactly what we have in Jesus Christ! I understand—trust me, I really do understand—that this year may go down in history as the worst year you’ve ever had. I understand that you didn’t get all the gifts you wanted. I understand that there is going to be one empty chair around the dinner table this year. I’ve lived through all of that, just like you. I’ve been there, I’ve done that. I know what you’re going through this Christmas.
But even more than that, God understands. When your heart breaks, His heart breaks. God understands the difficulties you face, and because He understands He gives us the gift of Jesus Christ, and because of that gift you can still wake up every morning and say, (Lamentations 3:22-23) “22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Because God loves you, Jesus Christ was born in a lowly manger. His mercies are new every morning. Because God loves you, that little baby grew to become a great teacher, giving us teachings full of wisdom and strength. His mercies are new every morning. Because God loves you, that great teacher became a sacrifice, dying on a cross to take away your sins. His mercies are new every morning. Because God loves you, your crucified Savior rose from the dead, giving you an opportunity for hope and life and never-ending love. His mercies are new every morning.
Through Jesus Christ, God gives and gives and gives and gives and He never gets tired of giving. He’ll keep on giving until the day you die, and all that He asks is that we receive His gift. And through Jesus Christ we will be transformed, because His mercies are new every morning.
I want two things from you this Christmas. The first is simple: receive the gift of God in Jesus Christ. You receive that gift the moment faith is awakened in your heart by the Holy Spirit. The moment you believe, the gift of Christ is yours. You might say, “I’ve believed on that for 50 years, do I still get the gift?” Yes, because God’s gift keeps on giving. That gift is made new for you and given to you every day. But you may also say, “I’m not sure that I’ve ever believed it before, but now I finally think I understand. Do I get the gift?” And again I say, “Yes!” Because if you’ve got the faith to say, “I believe” the gift is already yours, and all the angels in Heaven are rejoicing over God’s gift to you. And whether a believer for 50 years or 50 seconds, the gift is the same: forgiveness, life, and salvation in Jesus Christ. And a priceless gift it is.
The second thing I want from you this Christmas is also simple: join us in giving the gift of Jesus Christ to others this year. We’ve done a lot of talking and dreaming this past year at Our Saviour, and we have come to the conclusion that we want to get deliberate about God’s business. We are going to jump with both feet into a process of finding out just what God would have us do about making giving away the gift of Jesus Christ in our community. It’s going to be big. It’s going to be challenging. But because God has given Himself away to us in Jesus Christ, we want to give ourselves away to others. We want to make it Christmas every day for them, and we are going to join together in figuring out how to do just that. And I want you—yes, you—to join together with us on that journey.
Yes, I know, I know . . . you say to yourself, “Well . . . I don’t have anything to give. I’m selfish. I’m poor. I’m Grinch-y.” But I say that you do have something to give: you have the gift of Jesus Christ that was freely given to you. And in Jesus Christ you have everything to give. Come and join us as we learn how to give ourselves away to others.
You know what? As far as Jesus Christ is concerned, I’ll never get tired of being on the receiving end of Christmas. His gift is something that I’ll never outgrow. It’s a wonderful gift. A beautiful gift. So Christmas will always be a gift to me, and I’ll still enjoy eating the cookies (I love the cookies!). But I am tired of being Grinch-y . . . and I want to change.
(“Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!”)
But I do know this: I am forgiven for my sins, even my sin of Grinchiness. I have God’s promise that in Jesus Christ, God’s mercies are made new to me every day. Knowing that, knowing what I’ve received in Christ, that will enable me to give to others. Jesus Christ, from cradle to grave, given for me . . . and given for you.
