Beyond the Wrapping- Gift of Gifts

Gift giving comes in a variety of forms doesn’t it? I mean the easy gifts to give are to the ones you truly love, where there is an excitement and anticipation to give the gift. Even white elephant gifts can be fun because of the humor or story that goes into the time. But you know white elephant gifts aren’t the best gifts you have given or received. Then there are the gifts you feel obligated to give. It could be a boss, co-worker, distant aunt, or even a friend you didn’t know you had that type of friendship with and they got you something. Gifts, especially around Christmas can be a funny thing.

That’s why I find it interesting about the gifts that were given by the Magi. The Magi searched for “the eventual King of the Jews” as to pay homage to a literal King, but through their expedition, through their journey they found something very different. And I believe we can learn a lot about giving gifts from the caravan of Magi and company who gave three gifts to baby Jesus.

It’s not what the gifts represent as much as what we can learn from the gifts given. I think the first thing we can learn from the Magi is in Matthew 2:11- “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. . . . .” The Magi gave themselves. They humbled themselves, they bowed down and worshiped a baby, even though they were brilliant, affluent, creative men, they were Magi. But when they saw the baby Jesus, they gave themselves and humbled themselves at the feet of Mary. That is what we need to learn and carry with us, what does it mean to “give ourselves” to others? What does it look like to humble ourselves and give ourselves to those in our life? I believe it isn’t simply something we learn from the Magi, but this is exactly what God did for us. He gave himself for us in the form of a baby, His Son. This Christmas season, take some time and challenge yourself to give yourself to someone; spouse, kids, parents, co-worker, friend, teacher. Don’t worry about the how yet, simply think through and challenge yourself with the “who.”

The next part of the Matthew 2:11 says this, “Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Each of these gifts are gifts of value, gifts of significance. Not only that, each of them the Magi knew how to gather or make the gifts, so they were invested in the gifts they gave. The final thing we learn from the Magi visit is that they gave gifts of value. I’m not talking about the Christmas list; I’m not talking about giving the I-pad, jewelry, Super Bowl tickets, or a new Lexus.

With the backdrop of the first response, “giving yourself” to someone, the gift of value needs to come from who you are. And that is where we slam on the breaks and say I don’t think so. Because when we look inside to who we are, we don’t see a gift of value, we see a white elephant gift, we see garbage. We believe because of the difficult experiences and relationships we have gone through, who we are at the core isn’t worth it, isn’t significant. And why would we give anyone that we love, garbage, give them the “yuck” of what we see and feel.

To be able to give out of who we are, we need to have a transformed foundation. We need to believe the truth of who we actually are. This is who you are,

“I am God’s handiwork, fearfully and wonderfully made, created in His image for such a time as this.”

Say this to yourself.

That isn’t some New Age mumbo jumbo or a rerun of Stuart Smalley from SNL, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and gosh darn it people like me.” No, this statement is the truth and promise of God’s word. I am God’s handiwork (Ephesians 2:10), fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), created in His image (Genesis 1:27), for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). When that is our foundation, our lives change and our relationships change. We no longer have to live out of the garbage; we get to live out of the rich significance of who God says we are.

Which means when we answer the question, what is your gift of value you need to give someone in your life this year? It changes. We give out of who God has created us to be, so maybe the gift of value you give isn’t about the list or pretending or performing. The gift is actually; Creativity, passion, joy, forgiveness, insight, grace, ingenuity, truth, impact, detail, compassion, craftsmanship, service, listening ear, love, patience, wisdom, time and maybe treasure.

I’m not asking you to give something that you haven’t experienced or that isn’t who you are. I’m asking you to give yourself to someone out of the foundation of who you are. I believe if we begin to do that, we will be transformed and the people in our lives will begin to be transformed in ways that are far different than we have experienced. And that this Christmas you will begin to live beyond the wrapping of Christmas.

Today, who are you going to give yourself to and what gift of value are you going to give them?

Beyond the Wrapping- Gift of Presence

Have you ever wondered- would Jesus have coffee with you? Think about it. Y our favorite coffee spot; could be Exchange Bank Coffee House here in Plymouth, WI or Starbucks or even your back porch. Would Jesus sit down and have coffee with you in the morning or in the afternoon and share life? Would he have an "I Love Bill" coffee mug? In honor of you of course.

I believe that is one element of what Jesus wants to do and promises to do in your life. And why he came, "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel… which means… God with us.” Matthew 1:22-23

God with us, doing life with us. Walking with us, challenging us, wrestling with us, correcting our path, loving us and spending time with us. Not only does he say he will come and be with us, he promises he will stay. John 14:16-18- “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

The beauty in Jesus coming is the expression of love, sacrifice, and the fact that he never leaves us. He gives us a gift of the Holy Spirit to be our companion, our guide, and our hope. How may this Christmas season lead you into understanding more of who Jesus is by way of his Gift to you, the Holy Spirit.

I would encourage you this season to take some time and pour two cups of coffee, one for you and one for Jesus and spend some time with him. He longs to spend time with you. Share, allow him to be your companion, your guide and your hope today and everyday. (highlights from Pastor Bill McCaskill's sermon on December 11th, 2011 to listen to it in it's entirety follow this link- http://www.newlifecommunitychurch.us/messages)

Relate: Vision

"Without vision the people will perish." (Proverbs 29:18a) We can connect a lot of realities to this verse, it can be physical, it can be corporate or even non-profit. Without a vision the company or non-profit will no longer exist. But how does it apply to marriages?

When we look deeper into the word perish, it actually means "exposed, naked, uncovered," you could also say it means vulnerable, unprotected or directionless. With that deeper understanding, look at the impact of this verse, "without vision my marriage will perish." Without vision my marriage will be exposed, unprotected, directionless.

Which begs the next question, what is the vision of your marriage? Do you have one? Do you have a destination to your steps in marriage and if you do, how will you know when you get there?

I think all of us can have good intentions when it comes to our marriage. I think all of us want to have a healthy life giving marriage. But intentions don't get you anything. Andy Stanley says, "direction, not intention, determines destination." It is the direction of your marriage that will determine the destination.

Which leads to the other reality, if we don't have a concrete vision for our marriage, other things will take its place. Instead of focusing on the direction of a vision-filled marriage, we begin to focus on the past. Either the good ol' days or the past hurts. It's like driving to a destination, but only using your rearview mirror to get there. Looking at where you came from versus where you are going.

Or we focus on circumstances, instead of our future vision. Circumstances come in all kinds of forms and distractions; kids, budget, work, church, working out, grocery shopping, chores, and the list goes on. Don't get me wrong, those things are realities of every day. But if we don't have a future vision, we will be more focused on putting out fires than the growth of your marriage.

So what is the vision of your marriage? God says in Jeremiah that "he has a hope and a future for those who call upon him." And Solomon says in Proverbs that "he will make our paths straight for those who trust in him and not our own understanding." The results of your marriage is exactly what you put into it. If you put into it life giving elements, you will have a healthy life giving relationship. If you focus on other things, like your past and everyday circumstances, you will have a shallow, directionless marriage.

A vision doesn't have to be much; it can be a word, or a statement or a series of words. For my wife Theresa and I, over the past few years we have worked on putting a vision together for our marriage/family. We chose four words- adventure, safe, grace, creativity. We wanted to have a relationship of adventure, where we took risks, had fun, and did what we could to live outside of the box. In the same breath we wanted to have a marriage that was safe. When I say safe, I mean vulnerable, an openness to share from the heart. We also want to have our children be in safe environments for growth and becoming who God created them to be. Grace should sound simple, but in families, sometimes they are the last people we are gracious with. We need to be open to second chances and undeserved favor. Finally creativity, allows us to be who we want to be, as individuals, but also have fun from art to going grocery shopping.

Take time this week to draft a vision with your spouse. Take time to think through the direction of your marriage, because I believe it will give you the opportunity to live life anew with your spouse.