Pt. 1
If my computations are correct, today
is the 69th Christmas of my life, and one of the first things I
thought of, after waking up this morning, was gifts in general, and
specifically the gifts which the three wise men brought to the baby Jesus.
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.
My wife and I decided not to buy for
one another this Christmas. You see, our upcoming once in a lifetime vacation
to Scotland and Ireland is our gift to each other. My father’s paternal and
maternal ancestors originated in the former of the two countries. What a gift
it will be to visit these islands in which, according to a recent DNA test, I
inherited 70 percent of my chromosomal heritage.
I surmise the tradition of giving
gifts at Christmas was passed down to us by “the three wise guys.” Of course,
their gifts to the young Savior were a pale, prophetic shadow of the ultimate
gift which Jesus would bequeath to us; the
gift of His very life on the cross, so that He might satisfy His Father’s
requirement for reconciliation with fallen man.
As I write these words, it occurs to
me that, as a man, Jesus voluntarily surrendered the greatest gift which He
would ever be given. Length of days. And it occurs to me that as deity, and a
member of the Trinity, He voluntarily surrendered the most impressive talent
which He’d possessed from the eons. Omnipresence.
For you see, when Christ took on flesh
and dwelt among us, walked and talked among us, was hung on a rough-hewn cross,
died, and rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, He would never again reassume
the wherewithal to occupy more than one finite space at any given time. Didn’t
the angels remind the men and women who were present at the ascension of Jesus
into heaven?
“Men of Galilee, why are you standing here
staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he
will return from heaven; in the same way in which you saw him go.”
(Acts 1:11)
Pt. 2
And while in my almost seven decades
on this planet, I have never heard it spoken, nor alluded to by priest, nor preacher,
nor lay person, I will share the following thesis with you here.
And that is, in much the same way the
God-man surrendered at least two gifts or talents, when He assumed flesh, and
dwelled among us, I think sometimes our Lord withdraws a gift or talent with
which He has gifted us.
For just as Christ experienced seasons
during the course of His immortal, (and mortal) life, as well, we also will
experience seasons, and a resulting change in priorities; during the course of
the only life, (thus far) with which we are familiar.
I can provide you several personal
examples; (if you’re inclined to stay with me).
Among all the gifts I have ever been
afforded this side of heaven, the loss of my parents. My father went on to his
reward in 2012, and my mother joined him last year.
The loss of a prized position as an
adjunct professor at my alma mater, having served for seven semesters; as the
result of the university’s decision to dispense with most of the part-time
faculty in order to enhance their certification.
The loss of my pastoral counseling
ministry. Til a decade ago, I regularly sat with 20-25 cases a week. After I
felt compelled to step away from my former church, in favor of another, my
caseload diminished to almost zero. And while my tenure of almost twenty-five
years has, in recent years, ebbed more than it has flowed, from time to time
some random soul still knocks on my office door, and stretches me to offer them
wise counsel.
Pt. 3
My father was a wonderful landscape
artist. He was largely self-taught, and during the course of perhaps twenty
years, he produced and often sold some pretty impressive canvasses. I am
privileged to have four or five of them hanging on the walls of my home, and
have given another two or three to family members and friends.
As my father aged, his ability to
discern color waned, and he was forced to surrender the talent to which he so
often devoted his time and energies.
The latest gift and talent God has,
(apparently) called me to surrender seems to be my solo ministry. For when I
surrendered the busyness of my former profession, (to which I have alluded) I
began to exercise an altogether unused talent, that of a vocal ministry.
At this juncture, it appears our Lord
may have called me to surrender this gift to whence it first came. Lately, I
have experienced a sore throat “which will not let me go;” the result of a
hiatal hernia. And while my physician has provided me a different medication,
it has been inefficient in remedying the issue with which I currently contend.
Whether, or not I reassume the vocal ministry which others seem to enjoy more,
(and I, less) is a tale which is yet to be written.
All the foregoing to say:
I am convinced that with every gift or
talent God affords us, and which He, summarily, calls us to surrender back to
Himself, He replaces it with something else, and “for such a time as this.”
I mean, we have only to look to the
Captain of our souls:
The Son is the very essence of the Father’s glory, and
the exact representation and expression of His person, and who sustains all
things by His Word. After He provided Himself to be the sacrificial offering
for sin, He sat down at the right hand of the only God and Potentate in
heaven. (Hebrews 1:3)
Having finished His, at the same time,
both humble and hideous work, and given mankind the gift of His mortal life,
and the salvation which flowed from it, Christ assumed His rightful seat at the
right hand of His Father in heaven; a gift which God was overjoyed to afford
Him.
Pt. 4
I am convinced that God never calls us
to surrender one gift or talent that He doesn’t replace it with some other talent
or gift. It has been true in my life.
When one season gave way to another,
and my counseling ministry waned, not only was I afforded the wherewithal to
exercise my vocal talent, but I took up the ministry of mentoring young, and
not so young people preparing for life and impact.
And after all, any gift or talent with
which we have been graciously endowed comes from above, as our Lord’s brother
assured us so long ago.
“Every
good gift, and every perfect gift
comes down from above,
from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, nor even shadow of
turning.” (James 1:17)
It is imperative that we embrace the
notion that no talent or gift is ours of itself, and that we are no more
responsible for it than we are the next sunrise.
When we are called to surrender one
gift or talent, God in His mercy, and in His time, has a way of replacing it
with another talent or gift; for the sole purpose of impacting our fellow human
beings, and, in so doing, bringing glory to Himself.
Our Lord represents the best model of
this concept.
Afterward
“And
being found in appearance as a man,
Christ humbled Himself
by
becoming obedient to death,Christ humbled Himself
even death on a cross.
Therefore,
God exalted Him to the highest place
and has given Him the Name that is above every name,
that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth, and under the earth,
and every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the
glory of God, the Father.” (Phil. 2:8-11)and has given Him the Name that is above every name,
that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth, and under the earth,
and every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
Afterward
There is a poignant and amazing
passage in the fourth chapter of the Book of Revelation.
“Whenever the living creatures worshipped and gave glory,
honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, and who lives forevermore,
the twenty-four elders fell down before God who is seated on the throne, and
also worshipped Him; who is everlasting.
They
laid their crowns before the throne, and shouted,
‘You
are worthy, our Lord and God,
to
receive glory and honor and power,
for
you created all things.
And
by your will, and for your purposes
they
were created, and have their being.’”
If we are to be given rewards in heaven, and
scripture promises us that we will be, we will just as assuredly lay those
gifts at the feet of Jesus.
Perhaps God knew we needed a little practice.
(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 75. By William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending.
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