A writing tablet and yellow No. 2 pencil. The kind with a soft eraser. A Skooter doll by Mattel. She was the friend of Barbie’s younger sister, Skipper. White patent leather go-go boots. Whew! What an iconic fashion statement … they “were made for walkin’.” A mother’s birthstone ring and holiday dinnerware.
Each year as I have grown a bit older, the gifts under the Christmas tree have matured, as well. Each gift was intentionally selected. Each one received with anticipation and joy.
There is a line in one of my favorite Christmas carols that reads, “God’s Son for a gift has been sent you this night” (emphasis added). It’s a German hymn originally composed in 1798 as a poem written for children: Ihr Kinderlein, Kommet (O Come, Little Children)!
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
2 Corinthians 9:15
Paul the apostle spoke about this gift. And, for someone who had the ability to find whatever word was necessary at whatever place in his writing, in this case Paul could not come up with a descriptive synonym. No word would adequately express the significance of this gift that God has given in His Son. So he coined a word found nowhere else in all the Bible, translated “indescribable.”1
Ah, yes. Any attempt at describing the indescribable dares to fall short of comprehensiveness. So, we tell of what we know:
No word would adequately express the significance of this gift …
Jesus the Christ, the King of Righteousness, the King of Heaven, the King of Kings.
The wellspring of wisdom, the pathway of peace,
Sovereign, eternally steadfast, endurably strong. The just Judge.
He is enthroned on high. Yet He has come near. Utterly sincere, compassionate to all.
The centerpiece of civilization, unparallel, unprecedented,
The loftiest idea in literature, the highest personality in philosophy. Courage of the weak, comfort to the downtrodden, hope to the lost.
He is perfect love. The life giver, the sin forgiver. Changeless.
He blesses the young, regards the diligent, defends the feeble, esteems the aged,
His mercy is everlasting, His goodness is limitless, His word is enough.
You can’t out live Him and you can’t live without Him.
Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him!
A Story to Tell Blog
The Son of God does not have His beginnings in Bethlehem. Indeed, He has no beginning. And so it is at Christmas time that we remind ourselves that this child in the manger is Lord, true God and true man. Jesus is God’s gift to the world. Jesus is God’s gift to you! Indescribable.
O come, little children, oh, come, one and all,
To Bethlehem haste, to the manger so small.
God’s Son for a gift has been sent you this night
To be your Redeemer, your Joy and Delight.*
Writer’s Note: Merry Christmas! This past summer, my husband and I received the gift of time as we spent a highly anticipated week in Florida with our children and their families to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. What joy!
1Jesus, The Indescribable Gift, Charles R. Swindoll
*O Come, All Ye Children, Christoph von Schmid (1768-1854)