The Great Gift Exchange
Gift giving can be tricky.What do you give the person who has everything? Or the person you had not planned on giving a gift but they unexpectedly give you a gift? Or the person who gives you a beautifully thoughtful gift but your gift to them wasn’t nearly as thoughtful?
The giving of gifts can be wonderful but tricky. It can be lovingly thoughtful but also obligatory. Gift giving can be so joyful but also so stressful. The Bible tells us of the beautiful birth of Jesus, God’s gift to us. But it also tells us the story of Mary, Jesus’ mother, and her gift back to God: the great gift exchange.The Christmas story can be found in Luke 1:26-38. In verse 28, the angel comes to Mary and says: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”Most theologians believe that at the time of her angelic encounter, Mary was around 14 years old. Mary was unseasoned (had never been a mother before), inexperienced, unaccomplished and unmarried. Certainly not the qualifications that I would have looked for if I were God looking for a mother for my only Son!
Based on her outward qualifications, no one would have chosen Mary to be the mother of Jesus… except God!
But there was one qualification that God was looking for… He searched for a woman who loved Him and who would obey Him… and He found Mary.Verse 38 tells us of Mary’s response to God’s request of her to bear the Son of God: “I am the Lord’s servant… may it be to me as you have said.”Mary gave back to God the greatest gift she could give to the One who was giving the world His greatest gift: Jesus.Mary gave back to God her heart:(1) A heart of devotionMary simply LOVED God. She had a genuine, pure, devoted heart for the Heavenly Father.
Our heart of devotion to God can be the greatest gift we give back to Him. Not just a heart that has been forgiven and going to heaven but a heart that is DEVOTED to Him no matter what. No matter the circumstances we walk through, the storms of life that may come, or the uncertainties that we face.
A heart deeply devoted to the One who first loved us can be our gift back to God.(2) A heart of obedienceMary’s response to God’s request (through an angel) of her was not asking Him “why?” or “how is this exactly going to happen?” or “what will people think of me since I am unmarried?”Mary’s response was simply “Yes… May it be to me as you have said.”Mary just simply but wholeheartedly OBEYED.Carrying a heart of obedience can be difficult when you don’t know the outcome of your obedience or the details of how your obedience will play out. But the best gift I can give back to God is my obedience, and it can be your greatest gift back to Him too.(3) A heart of submissionWhen the angel spoke God’s plan to Mary, she willingly submitted her heart to God’s plan for her life.Carrying a submitted heart is having a complete acceptance of what God is asking of us, not even knowing all of the details. Mary had no idea of what life was going to be like for her as Jesus’ mother, but her heart that was submitted to God… answered yes.Mary’s “yes” meant that she would be pregnant before she was married and labeled as such; it meant trouble with her fiancé, parents, hometown, etc. It meant a life of tension for her and her baby, and it meant that she would be hunted down and forced to flee from country to country.Her “yes” also meant that her soul would be pierced with great sorrow as she followed her firstborn son to the cross.We don’t always know what our “yes” will mean to our lives, but a heart of submission will ultimately become the greatest gift we give back to God.Mary’s heart of devotion, obedience and submission was part of God’s plan to bring about OUR salvation. Whose salvation is depending upon OUR hearts of devotion, obedience and submission?As the wise men brought gifts that first Christmas night, over 2000 years ago, can we bring God our greatest gift? Our hearts. Hearts that are deeply devoted to Him, hearts that are completely obedient to all that He’s asking of us, and hearts that are totally submitted to His purposes and plans for our lives?
The great gift exchange: Jesus ~ God’s greatest gift to us. Our devoted, obedient, submitted hearts ~ our greatest give to Him.
