The Gift By Todd Zeiler       It was Drew's fifth Christmas!  He could hardly wait.  Christmas morning had finally come.  He darted for the tree.  There was one gift he had been wanting to tear into from the moment it appeared under the tree.  He had already masterminded his attack.  He would waste no time.  In a matter of seconds the gift beneath the tree had been unwrapped.  Can you see Drew dancing around in circles describing in wonderful detail how he had opened the gift?  Can you hear him telling his friends all about how he unwrapped his gift?  Somehow I just don't think the first words out of his mouth were used to explain his method of opening the gift.  His first words were about THE GIFT!
    I haven't been around any celebrations where the method of unwrapping the gift was discussed more than the gift itself.  As Christians, why don't we discuss the wonderful GIFT OF GRACE?  I have heard far more sermons/lessons on how to open the gift than the gift itself.  Does that make sense?  Are we trying to draw people to Christ with the wrapping paper or with the gift itself?  Is there a place to teach one how to open the gift?  Of course!  God has left the gift of grace for all.  we must unwrap it to receive it.  We must identify with the death, burial and resurrection through immersion in order to obtain this free gift.  But what draws people to Christ, grace or baptism?  Yes, there is only one way to open God's gift, but let's not forget the gift itself.
    Grace, the undeserved, free gift!  Why are we so afraid to talk about it?  Tell men what God did before you tell men what to do.  Are we afraid to tell the world it's a free gift?  Are we afraid to tell the world that God did all the work and we do not contribute one penny to our salvation?  It cost us nothing yet cost God His only Son.  Salvation is atonement, not attainment!  We can't qualify for grace.  We can only accept it.  It is unnatural for us to understand and accept something as precious and free as grace without feeling we can do something to deserve it.
    Man fears grace because he concludes grace eliminates obedience or human responsibility.  True grace tosses us into a cycle of gratitude which results in a more Christ-like life.  Allow me to use a simple illustration to make my point.  I have sold my house and left the money at a local bank for a friend to pick up.  He has incurred a debt and will not make it without the sacrifice of a friend.  I have left this money as a gift.  He must simply go to the bank and pick up his free gift.  He has a choice.  Take it or leave it (it's sad to think how many people actually turn down God's free gift).  He picks it up.  It's his.  He now has a tremendous responsibility to take extreme care of his new gift.  Obviously, I would be highly disappointed if he were to go out and waste his new gift on candy and video games.  He is obligated to nourish and invest in his new gift.  The gift came from a sacrifice and he should treat it as such.  This simplistic example in no way tries to compare the sacrifice of selling a house for a friend to that of God giving His only Son.  It only allows us to realize the responsibility that comes with the gift.  If we choose to accept God's gift in baptism we are called to be motivated by gratitude/love.  We are now charged with the awesome responsibility to live a life changed by grace.
    I think the more we understand grace the more we turn to God for power.  "None of self and all of Thee" - not to earn grace but BECAUSE of grace.  We assemble together because of grace, not to earn grace.  we evangelize because of grace, not to earn grace. You see, grace without works is dead.  Grace produces works, not vice-versa.  "For by grace you are saved by faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus UNTO good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:8-10).  Tell men what God did before you tell men what to do.  Have you forgotten THE GIFT?
 
 

 

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