A Christmas gift is an expression of the giver. By giving the gift, the giver is expressing love, appreciation, affection, friendship, or one of many more gestures. In fact, God Himself gives many gifts that are expressions of His nature. But the gift that we celebrate on Christmas is different than any other. God’s gift of His Son wasn’t another expression of Himself. In sending His Son, God gave Himself in human form.
Two verses in the New Testament perfectly describe the gift of Jesus, God’s Son. Hebrews 1:3 reads,
“And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.” The word that’s used in the Greek New Testament for “exact representation” is the word we get our English word “character” from. A person’s character is who they really are.In Colossians 1:15 the Apostle Paul wrote, “[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” The word that’s used for “image” in that verse is the word we get our word “icon” from. If I send an email with an attachment on it I usually send the attachment in the form of an icon. When the recipient of the email clicks on the icon, the document opens. The icon looks different than the document; but they are one and the same.
Jesus wasn’t just an expression of God. He was God in His character. Jesus came in a different form. His was human, and His appearance was human, but He was one hundred percent God. When we receive the gift of the Son, we get all of God.
There was a wealthy estate owner who carefully made provisions for the disbursement of his estate for the event of his death. The man was a widower and had no heir. His only son had died as a young man years before. When the man died, the executor of the will contacted Sotheby’s, the prestigious English auction house.
Wealthy purchasers came from around the world for a chance to bid for parts of the estate: houses, works of art, jewelry, property, etc. But to the guests’ surprise, the executor brought out the first piece to auction. It was a portrait of the deceased son. It wasn’t worth very much, but the auctioneer explained that the owner of the estate had given instructions that the portrait of the son had to be sold before anything else.
No one seemed to want to open the bidding. Finally, an elderly man raised his hand to make a token bid for the painting. The man had been a butler in the home and remembered the son. He had helped his employer raise the son, especially after the death of the son’s mother. No one offered a competing bid, so the auctioneer slammed down his gavel. Sold!
Then something happened that no one expected. The executor of the will stood and made his way to the podium. “This auction is over” he announced. Chins dropped. Audible gasps could be heard around the room. The executor explained, “The owner of the estate gave non-negotiable instructions. Whoever bought the portrait of the beloved son would be awarded the entire estate. In other words, whoever got the son, got the whole lot.
Unbelievable wealth. It was more than the retired butler could have imagined or hoped for.
Praise be unto God that Christmas is about far more than a baby. Christmas is about God giving Himself, His Son, the exact representation of His character. And when we receive the Son as Lord and Savior, we don’t just get God’s love or affection, we get God Himself. We get the whole lot!
3 Responses
Hi Les and Page,
Thanks for sharing this devotional. Too often we get caught up in the materialistic things and forget the true meaning of Christmas. Thanks also for your book, A Missional Christmas. Praying for you daily as well as your family.
Love and Merry Christmas to you both!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year,
Thank you for all the articles you write. I really enjoy reading them. You two are doing great work
for God.
Great story and lesson. Enjoyed it/
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