The Giver is the Best Gift
December 19, 2022 • by Jared C. Wilson
I tend to think that over all the preparations for the holidays, most people amount to one of two people. We’re either a Martha or a Mary.
If you’re not familiar with what I mean, let me remind you of this scene from Luke 10:
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (vv.38-42)
It may seem noble to always be working, or it may seem impressive. Do you see yourself in that scene? Are you Martha? Or Mary?
Marthas are running themselves ragged about now, over-scheduling themselves and everyone around them. They’ve got spreadsheets upon spreadsheets set up to tell them what gifts to buy, what food to prepare, what parties to attend, what projects to finish, and so on and so forth. Marthas are the ones who get to the end of the Christmas holidays and feel exhausted; they need vacations from their vacations.
There’s nothing wrong with being busy, of course. Most of us can’t avoid it anyway. But there is a particular problem with the biblical Martha’s kind of busy-ness. Her busy-ness was a distraction from Jesus. This is a very real danger at this time of year, where we are so wrapped up in “doing Christmas stuff,” that we actually get distracted from the point of it all.
“Martha, Martha,” Jesus sighs…
The Promise of Christmas
As you think about all you want to do and get done during the Christmas holiday season, do you feel anxious? Do you worry that Christmas will come and go, and you’ll find yourself feeling once again that all the gifts and parties didn’t quite “do it” for you?
Christmas Day is going to come quickly. It will be behind us soon enough, and perhaps so will our hopes for feeling something… different this year.
Every year in the days leading up to the big day, I walk through the local stores doing my Christmas shopping and I am struck by all of the implicit acknowledgements of the beauty of the gospel. Everything from wrapping paper to greeting cards, from sweatshirts to gigantic cardboard signs hanging from the ceiling, announce one-word aspirational virtues: Joy. Peace. Love. Hope.
For the unbeliever, the promise of Christmas is the promise of “spiritual vibes.”
Everybody wants peace on earth. Very few see the appeal of the narrow way of the Prince of Peace.
“Christmas is not about warm fuzzies; it is about the One who finally delivers on the promise of everything we acknowledge as good and true.”
Nothing Apart from Jesus
Because the truth is, we cannot have any of these beautiful virtues apart from their perfect embodiment in Jesus Christ. Christmas is not about warm fuzzies; it is about the One who finally delivers on the promise of everything we acknowledge as good and true.
The Bible will not let us have ethereal virtues.
Do you want peace? Christ himself is our peace (Eph. 2:14).
Do you want love? Christ himself is love (1 John 4:8).
Do you want hope? Christ himself is our hope (Titus 2:13).
In John 1:16, the apostle tells us that “from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
Jesus is an endless fountain of the blessings of grace. He is the apex and sum of all that is good and beautiful. He is the culmination of all that we really need, and more. Indeed, if we were to have every gift we’ve explored since December 1 except the gift of Jesus himself, we would still be as poor as ever. Because everything without Christ is a heap of nothing.
We have nothing apart from Jesus. And if we want to make the most out of the Advent anticipation of commemorating Christ’s birth, we need to intentionally and devotionally sit at the feet of Christ.
When the feeble scaffolding of our religious efforts and emotional spirituality falls away, may we be found claiming only Christ. Only Christ.
He alone has died for our sins. He alone has risen to conquer death and purchase for us eternal life. He alone has ascended to the Father to sit at his right hand and constantly intercede for us. He alone is returning in great glory (very soon) to finally consummate his kingdom and vanquish sin, grief, and death forever. He alone will reign as the lamp of the new creation. He alone is “worthy, worthy, worthy.”
“May we be found claiming only Christ. Only Christ. ”
Come to Jesus
And so today and every day we can come to the endless fountain of grace in Christ. We can look upon his face, because he is always warm and kind, gentle and loving. We can take his hand, because he is always steady and strong, sure and invincible. We can follow him, even unto death, because he always lives.
We can come to him not simply for forgiveness, but also for righteousness. He has dressed us in the wedding garment of his own work, for ours are filthy rags.
As St. Augustine once said, “You ask for your reward and the Giver is himself the gift. What more could you want?”
On this Christmas Day, turn out your pockets, brothers and sisters, and offer him nothing but your need, and he will give you the riches of the righteousness of himself. He will give you himself.
To help you focus on the Greatest Gift in the days leading up to Christmas, Jared has written a new book of Advent devotions called Gifts of Grace, which is now available from The Good Book Company. Each new day in this book is like opening up a gift in an Advent calendar, each of which helps us to see an ever-increasing treasure trove of glory brought to us by Christ in his gospel.
Jared C. Wilson is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Author in Residence at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a pastor and Director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church, both in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the host of the For The Church Podcast and author of over twenty books, including The Imperfect Disciple, Love Me Anyway, and the brand-new Gifts of Grace: 25 Devotions for Advent. Jared has been married to Becky for 26 years, and they have two college-aged daughters.
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