The Gift is What’s Inside!
By Susan Klein
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.”
Isaiah 53:2b
I love wrapping presents. While some may groan at the daunting task of wrapping a mountain of Christmas gifts, I absolutely delight in it! In fact, one year I even volunteered at a kiosk in the mall to wrap presents as a fundraiser for my son’s school. I was in heaven! I could turn a little cube of post-it notes into a work of art if given the right wrapping tools.By Susan Klein
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.”
Isaiah 53:2b
A close friend once told me that she didn’t care what her family gave her for Christmas, as long as it was wrapped in gold foil paper with a big red bow on top. Isn’t it true? Don’t we love pretty packaging? Would a diamond pendant seem as special of a gift if it were delivered in a brown paper sack? But, put a cubic zirconia in a plush velvet box and tie a satin ribbon around it with some dangly charms and it becomes a gift worthy of royalty! Presentation is everything. Or...is it? Would you purchase a car just because it was sleek and shiny on the outside, even if the engine was bad on the inside?
When it comes right down to it, the package, while it might be a feast for the eyes, is not the actual gift. The real gift is what’s on the inside. Scripture tells us that the greatest gift we’ve ever received, our Lord Jesus Christ, had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. Does that make Him any less desirable as a Savior? Does that make His gift of salvation any less meaningful? There were those who could not accept Him as Savior because He did not appear in the glory and splendor of a king on a throne. They couldn’t believe that God would send a simple man to be their Messiah. They were putting their faith in the packaging, not in the gift.
But we, who have faith, know differently. We know that He was the one true Gift sent to save us from eternal destruction. We know that God made Him appear just like any other man on this earth so He could relate to all men. And we also know that He is now crowned with glory and honor, seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, and He will come, packaged in splendor and glory, when He returns to earth to rule one day!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What gifts do you most value or desire to have?
2. Would you be willing to ask God to show you someone in your life with whom you could share the simple gift that God offers in the form of His unadorned Son?
FURTHER READING:
Hebrews 2; Revelation 1:12-18; Psalm 45:2-6; 2 Peter1:16-18
Susan is a wife and mother of two. She leads a small group and teaches for Tuesday a.m. Bible Study.
