White Christmas - IT’S A GIFT!!!

My father bought me a gift…a TV.  I did not want him to buy me a TV; I felt I could do that on my own just fine.  Compared to my old TV this one is leaps and bounds more superior in every way.  To find out just how much better things are with this TV I had to give it a fair comparison (size, color, clarity, etc.).  I played a movie on both sets, a movie that my whole family has memorized, a movie I probably see 2-3 times a year, White Christmas.  The differences just piled up.

Naturally one of the first things I saw was the actual color of Bing’s and Danny’s eyes; then details on the people’s faces (like any wrinkles, moles, etc.).  Then, during the club-car scene, I could see the pattern of Bing’s tie!!!  Even more, I could see that he had a tie-tac on!!!  Just when I thought I had seen it all I saw a little flicker towards the bottom of the screen…it was Bing’s buttons and cufflinks reflecting off of the shiny tabletop!!!  WHO KNEW THAT THE TABLETOP ACTUALLY SHINED?!!

The list goes on and on.  After a while my surprise and joy started turning to puzzlement.  How come I had not noticed these things before?  Was the quality that this movie was recorded in far superior to the TV sets that it had been playing on….since the move had been produced!  If the technology of years ago was so good to make a movie of such great quality why is it that people weren’t enjoying that quality years ago when those movies came out?

The answer of course lies in the TV set.  For reasons beyond my comprehension movies were made great but the way we saw them wasn’t; our vision was broken and in need of repair before we could see things clearly.  My vision was fixed by my father.

My father gave me my TV.  It was a gift which allowed me to see clearly.  I didn’t ask for it, it wasn’t on any wish list; it was free of charge and obligation.  I was content with my old TV; but maybe that’s because I didn’t know that things could be better than my old TV.

As humans we are born into the world as sinners, broken, unable to see clearly, and even if we were presented with a way to see clear, to fix our broken sight, our sinful nature would not let us choose to do so.  We only know what we have, which is sin, and don’t know that there is something better out there.  In short, since we are broken, we cannot fix anything, including ourselves.  We have to be fixed, made whole, given sight, and we cannot do it to ourselves.

The gift that Christ has for us could only be paid by him, a man that knows no sin.  The gift that Christ has for us is the only remedy for our broken state.  The gift that Christ has for us is a beautiful and glorious thing; something that the world cannot offer or match.  Out of all things, however, that the gift that Christ has for is, I think the best part is that it is what it is…a gift.

This gift cannot be purchased by man for we cannot pay the price.  This gift cannot be given by man for it is not ours to give.  This gift cannot be requested or chosen because 1)our sinful nature will not let us choose to do any good and 2) if we could attain it by a merely asking or choosing…IT NEGATES IT BEING A GIFT!!!!  There are no requisition forms for the gift that Christ offers.  It is a gift given to man by God, period.

We must submit to the fact that salvation is a gift.  We don’t deserve it and we can’t do anything to get it.  If we reduce the weight of what Christ has done for us on the cross we reduce the worth of Him as well.  By believing that one can take an active role in their own salvation one sets themself up for confusion in their spiritual life; confusion that the devil will take hold of and continue to weave doubt into the believers mind with.

As I write this I anticipate the celebration of the baptism of my two sons, Jayden and Kaelis.  On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013, my boys will receive the free gift of Christ through the water and the Word.  Praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!