The Gift and What’s In It For Us

I remember when I was a kid being really excited during this time of the year. I would sit there in our living room admiring all the lights and decorations on our Christmas tree, enjoying some Christmas music and cookies, and wondering what was in those wrapped gifts with my name on them. I will justify that self-centeredness by saying that that’s part of the magic of Christmas for a kid.

I’d like to think that that was part of the magic as well for the shepherds and Mary and Joseph when it came to the birth of Jesus. “What exactly is in this gift of Jesus,” I imagine them wondering, “that God has given us and the angels have announced?” That’s my more polite way of saying, what’s in it for us?

We’ve explored the reason why God gave the world the gift of Jesus and what was in it for Him to give us that gift. Now I want to see what was in it for us, for the whole world, for all of humanity.

The obvious answer is our salvation, but I want to go beyond that. I want to talk about the impact the gift of Jesus can have on us right now in this life. Yes, salvation is in it for us right now if we accept the gift by faith and are in Christ, but there are other ways this gift can impact us, ways that it can bring us something that so many people lack and desperately want. I’m talking about peace and joy.

Many Christians struggle with experiencing peace and joy in their lives. They see all the hurt and suffering going on around them and they wonder how there can be fulfillment and contentment in the face of this rotten, broken world. Perhaps they have lived through their own hurts and sufferings, such as abuse, being raised in a broken home, failed marriages, lost friendships, lost jobs, extreme financial hardships, disease and illnesses, or watching those close to them live and die through excruciating pain. In the midst of it all, is it any wonder we struggle with having peace and joy?

Believe it or not, we can have it despite our circumstances. Remember, Jesus said that he came that we may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). Is what I’ve described in the paragraph above the life that Jesus came to give? Is that what’s in it for us?

Absolutely not! I am not a therapist and I don’t play one on TV (and I haven’t stayed in a Holiday Inn Express lately), but I do have some observations that I would like to share that might help us. So for what it’s worth, here are my two cents worth (which I suppose makes it worth two cents).

We Christians can learn a thing or two from the Apostle Paul. When life is beating you up and getting you down and you’re full of anxiety rather than peace and joy, study his life. Talk about someone who was beaten up by life – literally! Take a look at all that he went through during his 30+ year ministry.

He worked extremely hard.

He had been in prison multiple times.

He had been severely flogged.

He had been exposed to death again and again.

He had received 39 lashes from the Jews five different times.

He was beaten with rods three times.

He was pelted with stones once.

He was shipwrecked three times.

He spent a night and a day in the open sea.

He was constantly on the move, apparently not able to stay in one place too long. (In other words, he was pretty much homeless.)

He had been in danger from rivers.

He had been in danger from bandits.

His fellow Jews were out to get him.

He faced danger from Gentiles.

He faced danger in the city, out in the country, and at sea.

He faced danger from false believers.

He labored and toiled and often went without sleep.

He knew times of hunger and thirst.

He often went without food.

He had been cold and naked.

And he daily faced the pressure of concern for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)

I dare say that the vast majority of Christians today, especially those of us living in America, have not experienced anything quite like this. If there was anyone who had the right to let life get him down (besides Jesus), I think Paul certainly would have qualified.

And yet he’s the one who said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:11).” What? He was content? Content with everything he went through? How? He continued, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want (Philippians 4:12).”

Does that describe us? I’d say no, not most of the time at least. We get all anxious and worried and stressed out when we don’t get the promotion or raise we think we deserve at work or when our children are misbehaving at home or when there is trouble brewing at church. We lose our peace and joy at the drop of a hat, and Paul was content in any and every situation? I don’t know about you, but that grabs my attention. I want some of that. (And as a side note, he wrote those words while he was imprisoned.)

So what was his secret? How was he able to be content in the midst of everything he went through? His very next statement in Philippians says it all. “I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).” “Oh, so that’s it,” you might be thinking to yourself. “He received some miraculous power from God. Well, why doesn’t God do that in my life?” It’s easy to read what Paul is saying that way, but I don’t think that’s what he meant at all. In fact, I don’t think Paul was focused on his life at all. I think he was focused on Christ’s life in him, and that’s where the strength came from.

Read the following from Paul and you’ll see what I mean: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).” Wow! Now that’s some powerful words, words that clearly express that Paul’s focus was on Christ, not on himself. And that was his secret to being content in any and every situation.

I am convinced that the things we focus on are the things that will ultimately form us, shape us, control us to a large extent. If we focus on all the negative stuff that’s happening all around us or to us, we will not have much peace, joy, and contentment. Even if life is treating us reasonably well, it’s often not enough and we still struggle with being content. Why? Because we have a tendency to focus on the flesh, and the more we focus on the flesh and its desires, the more it craves. It can never be satisfied and you will never find peace and contentment that way. That’s why some wealthy people are often never satisfied; their flesh covets more and they never have enough. It’s the thing that drove them to become wealthy in the first place. So they divert all their focus and energy on obtaining more to satisfy that elusive peace they so deeply desire in the innermost parts of their being.

But don’t be fooled; wealthy folks are not the only ones who can get caught up in the rat race of trying to find fulfillment in what the world offers. That can happen to us all. And that’s why we need to pay attention to how Paul lived. If you desire to live a life of peace, joy, contentment, and fulfillment, then listen to what Paul has to say to us and heed his advice. He says…

“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).”

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:2).”

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).”

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).”

Notice how the emphasis is not on the here and now, not on present circumstances, and not on fleshly desires, but on the hope of future glory that awaits us. That was Paul’s secret. That’s how he could have peace and joy in situations that would tear most of us apart. He looked beyond his present circumstances and fixed his eyes on Jesus and his love for him. That’s what was in it for him and that’s what can be in it for you and me. How was he able to do that? That’s what we will take a look at next week as we go deeper into the heart of God and what Christmas is all about.