NO GIFT UNDER THE TREE

By: Brett Clements

November 25, 2010

Introduction:

There is no doubt the holidays will be different for most people this year (2010).
Given the state of the U.S. economy there will be fewer Christmas gifts under the tree of
almost all families and no gift under the tree of many. On the surface this seems to be a sad
rumination of our current, seemingly, bad situation. Maybe we could think outside the box
society has forced us into and see this year’s state of affairs as the overlooked gift to a
nation. With Christmas in mind we must first note It is a Christian Religious Holiday.
Furthermore it is a time for observance. Christmas is the celebration observed to remember
the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The current thought process of our contemporaries sound something like this, “We
have to give a gift to the people in our lives, and we expect to get a gift from our close
acquaintances”. As author and speaker Dave Ramsey says, “We buy things we don’t need
with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t really like”. (Not necessarily his
context, but you get the point). Our focus has become the almighty gift. We spend all day
Thanksgiving Day searching the newspapers for the super deals that will be available on
Black Friday. We scour the internet for hidden treasure savings. All together we skip the
relational side of one holiday to leap fast forward into another. Maybe, just maybe, not
getting or giving the typical wrapped gift is not as horrible as it seems. That very idea
happens to be one that causes immense panic in the mind of Americans.

If we look at history through Gods record, the Holy Bible, we will find the hope we so
desperately need. The hope we will find will be the cure for the holiday blues, the down
rating of our non-gift giving friends and family, the anxiety of January credit card
statements and our self inflicted fretfulness because we can’t buy gifts this year. This hope
is available and can be found in the pages of scripture. As we take a close look at the record
of God and His People may we ask God to reform our thinking and give us the right
understanding of Christmas. May God also help us all to teach what we learn from
scripture? If we take this approach we are on the path to a healthy happy Holiday season
whatever the economic climate. We are also planting seeds that will be harvested by
generations to come.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?

1
 From the beginning, (Genesis), all things were created with a purpose. The original
purpose of man was and is to glorify God. Mankind has often moved away from the original
call. Throughout the Bible we have accounts of this. Moving away from God always brought
corrective measures instituted by the hand of God (see Genesis 6:5-8 & Revelation 3:19).
God made this known to Noah through the flooding of the earth and the Covenant made at
the end of the flood (see Genesis 6-9). This was a showing of God’s love for His Creation and
correcting of man.

God’s chosen nation of Israel was corrected on numerous occasions. The northern
tribes of Israel were taken into captivity by the Assyrians and the southern tribes of Judah
were taken into captivity by the Babylonians. There was always a remnant left behind, and
God always raised a prophet to preach corrective truth to the wayward people (Isaiah
10:20&21). Why? His purpose was correction. When God corrected the Old Testament
people and when He corrects us today He does so to bring us back to the original purpose,
His Glory. Look at Malachi chapter one for further study (special attention to verse 6).

Christmas began on a night with little thought of God. A baby was born to a virgin
in the little town of Bethlehem. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a
manger. This Child was God in the flesh. Jesus Christ who came to save the world from sin.
Why did Christ come? Christ came because mankind was and is dreadfully lost. John 3:16
tells us, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Blue Letter Bible. "Gospel of John 3 - (KJV -
King James Version)." Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2010. 25 Nov 2010. < http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=3&t=KJV
>.
.

We have the New Testament truth that God chastens those He loves (Hebrews 12:5-
6). Christmas is about salvation. Christmas is about Grace. Grace is God’s gift to us. Grace
is the gift of salvation to undeserving people. People in the United States have for years
celebrated Christmas knowing the reason for the season. In recent years we have witnessed
stores taking Christ out of Christmas and call it Xmas. Schools are becoming leery of
nativity scenes and government officials fear the words, “Merry Christmas”. While many
move away from the real reason for Christmas they continue to participate in the madness
of the modern culture. Anxiety builds and frustration abounds.

Yes, we are experiencing difficult times as a nation especially in economics. It does

seem bleak. Now it is time to see what is outside our everyday box. Could this be a gift?
What if everyone realized Christmas is about a gift to the undeserving lost world and not
about our temporal gifts to each other? What if we, instead of making Christmas about our
desires and wants we remember to thank God for the gift He sent to us years ago in the
form of a baby? Maybe this recession is a gift after all. Let’s treat Christmas as the
celebration it is meant to be. After all, you don’t have the money to go shopping!