An Undeserved Gift


You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town

He's making a list and checking it twice
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is comin' to town

He sees you when you're sleepin'
He knows when you're a wake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake

 Even if I were to estimate conservatively, I'd say I've heard the song above over 1,000 in my life time. As a grown man now, with kids of my own, the words and the melody of the song take me back to my childhood. Lying in my bed each night leading up to Christmas, I envisioned all the presents stacked around the tree just for me. I was an only child for 9 years, so for nearly a decade, I was the only recipient of gifts at my house on Christmas morning. Then my younger siblings came along and ruined my one man band. My Christmas loot was divided in 4ths. Bah humbug. 

 Being the devious little menace that I was, the lyrics of the above song ushered into my ears a warning about my behavior. The fact that Santa was watching and taking note of my shenanigans, struck fear in my greedy little heart. I wanted those presents! If I landed on the wrong list, I would get coal instead of cool toys. Even worse, I'd get nothing rather than Nintendo. Oh boy.

Fast forward more than a few years, and parents today have found more and more unique ways to coerce good behavior from their kids around the holidays. We now place dolls in our homes to keep an eye on our kids, and report the goings on back to Santa. How elfing brilliant is that?

Here's the secret that chubby little 5 year old Adam didn't know however...there is no naughty list that would leave me without presents on Christmas morning. Everything I unwrapped on Christmas was an undeserved gift.

Parent's can do whatever they want to attempt to steer their children in a direction toward goodness and obedience, but kids will fall short. "Kids will be kids," isn't that what they say? Kids will disappoint, and parents will forgive, and round and round we go. Kids consistently miss expectations, but parents give gifts any way. The love of a parent fills the stockings of their undeserving kids.

Kids couldn't possibly earn their gifts, they'd find all sorts of ways to screw it up. Plus, the term "gift" suggests that something was given to another without any effort, exchange, or compensation.

I've recently recommitted to reading through the bible in a year. I would strongly encourage you to give it a shot. It's really not overwhelming if you break it up over 365 days, and believe it or not...there's an app for that.

As I've started to read back through passages from the Old Testament and the New Testament alike, what has grabbed my attention is the brokenness that is mortal man. It started with Adam and Eve in the very beginning of times and it’s present in today’s society more than ever. What we deserve for our sin and brokenness is to be forever banished from the presence of God. To find our name on the naughty list. But thanks be to God, He has provided a way, a ticket of sorts to return home. The ticket is a gift that we didn’t and couldn't ever earn on our own. That gift was his son, Jesus. 

 Just as the Elf resting on our shelf during the holiday season shows up to announce the imminent  arrival of Santa, many foretold and prophesied about the coming of our Savior. Arguably no one set the stage better than John the Baptist. As John preached, he gained popularity, but he didn't keep the glory for himself. He told of the coming Messiah. John told others, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

 Jesus was the gift we couldn't ever earn and that we certainly don't deserve. The love of our Father filling the hearts of His undeserving kids. He gave us the gift of Jesus, and Christmas is the time of year we give thanks and recognize Christ's birth. 

 As children of God we will no doubt disappoint, but if we truly repent, He will forgive us anyway. As children of God we will consistently miss expectations, but He will love us anyway. Through faith in Him, there's nothing we can ever do that will leave us without the gift of Jesus, an undeserved gift. 

Much Love, Adam

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

2 Corinthians 9:15

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

James 1:17






Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

1 Peter 4:10

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

Acts 2:38

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I once was lost, but now I’m found

Image
Two old men were lost driving together through Kentucky. When they finally saw a sign on the side of the interstate for the approaching town, the old man driving said, “We're almost to “Lewis-ville.” The old man sitting beside him in the passenger seat said, “It’s “Louie-ville.”" They argued back and forth about the pronunciation for a few minutes before the driver suggested, “let’s take the next exit, go into town and ask a local, then we will listen to them carefully as they tell us the name of the town, and we will have our answer.” The old man in the passenger seat agreed that would be a fair resolution to their dispute. So the driver pulled off the interstate, and into the parking lot of a local store, and the two old men went inside. The driver pleaded with the worker inside, “Sir, help my friend and me, please. Tell us very slowly and very clearly, where are we right this minute?" The worker leans forward over the counter a...
Read more

My Favorite Floaties

Image
"I'm drowning, Amber. I can't do it. I can't keep my head above water." My voice cracked and I tried not to cry on the phone. How humiliating would that be? A grown man breaking down like a child talking to his fiancé. I was nearing the end of my first semester of law school. I was living alone in a small one bedroom apartment, and my closest family member lived four hours, and one state away. I didn't attend the most prestigious law school in the country, not even by a long shot, which made my struggles with the curriculum all the more frustrating. To give myself some credit, it wasn't really the curriculum, as much as the volume of the curriculum. The reading assignments never let up. Never. In undergrad, I could "buckle down," read ahead a little, and be just fine. In law school I felt like "Johnny 5" from the 1986 movie, "Short Circuit," and I still couldn't keep up. See the video below if you've not seen that c...
Read more

The Love of a Teacher

Image
I still remember the nervous excitement as I walked into the kindergarten wing of Woodland Elementary School for the first time. We were the "mustangs" then, apparently they are the "hawks" now. Sadly, I must have missed the vote for the mascot change. At any rate, getting back to kindergarten, my socks were pulled up to my knees, and my empty backpack was strapped loosely around my shoulders. I had a fresh haircut from Ross the Boss and I sported a buck toothed smile. The same goofy smile my 9 year old son now flashes at me from time to time (Sorry about the big teeth, J.B.)  When I learned during the summer before kindergarten that my teacher's name was Ms. Thompson, I remember lying in my water bed (Don't you judge me, you had one too) and wondering what kind of teacher Ms. Thompson would be. Would she be strict? Would she be fun? Would she be kind? Would she like me? It turns out, she was a wonderful lady, who had the keen ability to m...
Read more