Thursday, January 9, 2020

A Gift for the One I Love - Henry Knapp


What do you get someone who has everything? The perpetual birthday/Christmas question. What gift can we find for someone who really doesn’t need anything we might be able to give?

My parents are now in their 80s, and we have long ago exhausted every possible gift idea. It helps that my father responds to anything chocolate like it’s manna from heaven, and that if it has a Steeler emblem on it, it should be treated as gold. But even so, how many Steeler ties can you wear to church each week? My mother is a bit easier, but only because she is classy enough, and kind enough, to act like, yes, really! THIS dishtowel is actually the best one ever!

Of course, at its best, we are not giving gifts to actually give the other person something, but to express to them our love and care. And this paves the way for us to ask—What can we give to Jesus our Lord? We well know that Jesus doesn’t NEED anything. We can’t give Him something that He doesn’t already have. We can’t give Him any more glory than is already His. We can’t give the Lord of creation our money, it’s His to begin with. We can’t give Him our lives—He already owns them. But, that doesn’t mean we don’t have that drive to give to Him, that yearning to show Him our love and devotion by offering Him… well… what He already owns!

Now, some people will distort this—many people have distorted this—so that our giving is somehow a way of making God pleased with us. Our offerings, our gifts to the Lord, are seen, not as a free expression of adoration, but as a means of currying favor. We do things for our God with the hope that He will do good things in return. What a horrid relationship that is! Can you imagine voicing that out loud on Christmas morning—“Here, mom, here’s my gift to you; but just so you know, I’m only giving it to you so you feel compelled to give me something good in return.” AHHHH! Sure, it’s wonderful to get gifts. Sure, I want to give gifts to those who give them to me. But, not because they give me gifts, but because our relationship is marked by love, respect, and devotion.

So, if not to win God’s approval or His blessings, why do we so desperately want to give something, anything to Him? Because, that’s what you do when you love someone—you give, and give, and give to another. Every birthday, every Christmas, we dig and dig, seeking the right gift—the gift that will not provide them something they don’t already have, but to give them the gift that expresses the depth of our relationship.

In our text this week, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, gives an extravagant, wonderful gift to Jesus. Never once is there a hint that she is doing so to earn His pleasure, or that she is trying to get something from Him. Her gift is motivated from her desire to express her adoration, her love, her devotion to Jesus her Lord.

It is my prayer that we too will give all we have out of love to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

As you prepare for worship this week, read John 12:1-11.

1. Give a quick scan at the verses immediately before this story. How do they shape the storyline here?

2. In verse 1 we are told that the Passover is coming. What implications are present from that statement?

3. Notice how they describe Lazarus—we just left him, I don’t think the author needed to mention this… but he did. Why?

4. Both Martha and Mary make an appearance here. Notice that they are “in character”. Is this a good thing or bad?

5. Just like there is a description of Lazarus, there is a description given of Judas. Why do you think the author describes him thus?

6. In verse 5, Judas questions the value of anointing Jesus as Mary has done, drawing the contrast with using the money to help others. What current church debates might follow this same pattern?

7. Jesus’ comment that the poor will always be with us means what? What attitude is Jesus trying to bring forth in His followers?