Yesterday, we looked at six effects God’s gift produces.
Seventh, we have a home in heaven prepared for us by Christ. Just before His crucifixion Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3). We have a hymn in English, written by Robert Murray McCheyne, in which this great Scottish preacher looked over the benefits of God’s salvation and then ahead to heaven, saying,
When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o’er life’s finished story,
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.
But in my opinion, we shall not fully know it even then. And we shall certainly never be able to describe this salvation as we ought.
I close with this thought. Even though the gift of God in Christ is “unspeakable,” as the Authorized Version has it, it is nevertheless to be spoken of. And the primary reason is that it is so indescribable. To whom shall we speak of it? Well, to God first of all! This is the other half of the text, for 2 Corinthians 9:15 does not speak merely of God’s gift. It says, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.’ Have you thanked God for His great gift of salvation? Have you thanked God for anything? At Christmas you and I thank all kinds of people for more gifts than we probably should have. It is “Thank you for this” and “Thank you for that.” But what of God? Is it not wrong and even offensive to be profusely thankful for pens and pencils and records and clothes and toys and TV games and overlook that one gift which alone is beyond all powers of human description? If that gift is as great as the Bible says it is, then we should literally cry out with Paul, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” Thanks be to God for Jesus!
And when we are crying out thanks, let us not forget that the best thanks are not in word alone. Thanks are expressed in deeds too. What deeds? If you have never received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, your first deed should be to receive Him and worship Him, as the shepherds, wise men and others of the Christmas story did. That is, you should take the gift God gives you. Do not think of it in terms of your worthiness. You are not worthy and never will be worthy. Just take it. Let it be yours. Receive it as that treasure in the field or that pearl of great price for which the wise men and women of this world sell all that they have.
You can also express your thanks by service. You have much, but there are others who have little. Reach out to them in Christ’s name. Let God’s gift be the pattern for your giving and His service be the pattern for your service.
Finally, know that you are not merely under obligation to speak to God about His indescribable gift. You have an obligation to speak to others also. I notice that in the Christmas story nearly everyone spoke to others about God’s gift. The wise men said, “We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him” (Matt. 2:2). The shepherds “spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child” (Luke 2:17). Simeon “praised God” (Luke 2:28). Anna, the prophetess, “gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). That last is the perfect combination: thanks to God and testimony to other people.