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What If I Gave All? Several years ago on Christmas Eve, a woman who had been blessed with a comfortable lifestyle, was showing a little neighbor girl her Christmas tree. It was then the little girl asked, “What’s Christmas?” The lady answered, “Why, child, don’t you know? Christmas is Christ’s birthday, and this is the tree, and these are the presents.” Whispering, she continued, “The red one is my husband’s new hunting jacket. That little one is a computer game for my granddaughter…” And on and on she went, describing the huge pile of packages. As the little girl looked at all the presents, she asked, “Where’s His?” “What do you mean,” asked the woman. “I checked my list many times—have I forgotten someone?” The little girl answered, “Didn’t you say Christmas is Christ’s birthday? Where is His present?” As another Christmas has drawn to a close and we are about to embark upon a New Year, this story reminds me of a more recent Christmas Eve. Just a few days ago, as our church gathered to worship the Lord of Christmas, each family brought forward gifts of food, Bibles, and money for a missionary we support in Africa. Before they did so, we heard a story Ray Boltz tells, as well as the song he wrote about it. At one of his concerts, a little boy stared at the image of a hungry child on the video screen. He asked his mother why the little boy was hungry. When he was told that the boy’s parents had no money to buy food, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar bill, and asked his mother, “The preacher says that a single dime can feed one child—how many will this feed? When his mother told him “ten,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out the rest of his money—his birthday money—two dollars. It was then he asked, “What if I give all I have?” The chorus of the song is as follows: “What if I give all I have? What will that gift do? My child, a gift like that could change the world—it could feed a multitude. He didn’t close his eyes or turn away. I can see him standing tall—he saw the need and I can hear him say, “What if I give all?” What a very good question! Last month, this publication dealt with the issue of the cost of Christmas, specifically as it relates to God Himself. In that, we saw Scripture reference after Scripture reference declare the cost of Christmas for God. Everything—absolutely everything—was for His own name’s sake. In the Old Testament, as He called forth His people to live for Him, His name was on the line. Whether they forsook His paths or followed Him closely, it was all being watched very closely by the pagan nations around them. His name would either be honored or thrown to the ground, depending on how closely His people were walking with Him. Christmas would bring God and His people even closer together—as A.W. Tozer put it, “He bestows this supreme gift—He makes us the repository of the nature and person of Jesus Christ.” Do you see it?—Not just God-followers, but temples of the Holy Spirit. But God wouldn’t be the only one to give all he had—there were others involved in the Christmas story. Consider Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents-to-be of John the Baptist, the one chosen by God to point the people to Jesus. Up until this time, much of anything having to do with God was seen in a futuristic light—the coming Messiah, the coming Day of the Lord, etc. Even the announcement of their up-coming baby John had the same air—“Thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.” (Luke 1: 13a-14) But Christmas would change all that—now, Zechariah declared, “His name is John.” (1:63) In Christmas, the future becomes the present, and His presence is NOW! For Zechariah and Elizabeth, all on the altar was laid—all was given. Oswald Chambers, the great preacher of the early 20th Century, spoke it clearly: “The gift of the essential nature of God is placed and made effective in us by the Holy Spirit. He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, making us truly alive. He takes that which was ‘beyond’ us and places it ‘within’ us. And immediately, once the ‘beyond’ has come ‘within,’ it rises up to ‘the above.’ And we are lifted into the kingdom where Jesus lives and reigns.” When Zechariah and Elizabeth gave all that they had and let God’s future plan come within, they rose above—and from that moment forward, lived for His name’s sake. Consider Mary—the same thing is true! The angel told her, “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest…the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (2:31-32a; 35) It was all yet to happen…down the road…out there somewhere. Until Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (2:38a) I believe that is actually when it happened—when that which was beyond came within, and then and only then, could she rise above and magnify the Lord with her entire life, not just her words. She gave all she had. Consider Joseph. His world was shattered. His precious Mary was now expecting a child—and he was not the father! He would need a plan and he would need it fast. Matthew 1:19 explains it: “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.” You see, her “supposed” sin should have brought the death penalty, and, at the very least, her life would be riddled with ridicule and gossip, but Joseph loved her dearly and was willing to sacrifice his life with her in order to spare her. As plans go, it was a pretty good one—it would certainly achieve his goal, but God had a better one. In fact, it was the best. The angel appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save His people from their sins.” (1:20b-21) Now that is a plan! But in order to have it, Joseph would need to sacrifice his sacrificial plan—he would have to give all he had. His understanding, his strength, his plans—all gone, and in their place, trust in an Almighty God. Vance Havner calls it, “Being shipwrecked on God and stranded on Omnipotence.” Any better place to be? Lastly, consider the shepherds. Luke 2:8 tells us, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” As the story unfolds, we find that the angels came to them and them alone to give the world the Good News. Why? Why not burst in on the Levitical priests and the learned rabbis? Why not go straight to the top—the Roman governor or King Herod? Why not? Simply this—the shepherds were in the same country, on the same page, so to speak. Besides Mary and Joseph, and perhaps the baby Jesus Himself, the shepherds were probably the only ones awake. It was a time for watching; it was a time for guarding—for now, their humility, their simplicity, their faithfulness to duty would be put to the test. Would they trade in their loyalty to a flock of sheep and their lambs in order to bow down to the Lamb of God, who had come to take away the sin of the world. Yes, they would—and better than that, it would shape their lives, their jobs, their everything—from that day forward, “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.” (2:20) The beyond had come within, and now, they could rise above and truly live in the reign of God. And so can we, but the way will be no different. As we begin this New Year of 2002, may we follow His lead. The song I mentioned earlier continues: And long ago a father and a
son M.A. Matthews tells the story of a group of children that stopped to look at a church’s manger scene after school had let out early. The snow was swirling and the air was bitter. Soon they all left, except for one little girl. The wind lashed at her bare legs and caused her coat to fly open, but she seemed oblivious of the weather. Her total attention was on something else. As she removed her blue woolen scarf, her hair was whipped by the wind into a wild tangle. She didn’t seem to notice that, either. Lovingly, she wrapped her scarf around the baby Jesus…and then, kissed him on the cheek. Leaving her scarf—a present for Christ, she skipped down the street. As we venture into the bitter unknown of this New Year, and the rest of the world is all whipped up by other things, will you honestly ask the question, “What if I give all?” Praise God—that which seems beyond you will come within you, and—Praise God—you will truly rise above—right into the Kingdom of God! Copyright (c)
2005 Christ Our Rock Bible Church. |
