Give Different...

I hope we have gotten the message that the Advent Conspiracy is not a call to stop giving gifts. It’s a call to give a different kind of gift. The Advent Conspiracy is a call to give the kind of gifts that God gives. And how does God give?

1. God gave us his presence in Jesus

Immanuel means “God with us”. When God saw our need he didn’t simply send a solution, he sent a person: himself! He gave His very presence. We are surrounded by “pseudo community”: twitter, facebook, etc… These “social networks” have their place but fail to give us any real “face time” with each other. We need to be “with” one another. We need to give “presence”.

2. The Gift of Jesus was personal

Luke tells us that the angels announce that “unto you” is born a savior. The gift of Jesus is to “you”, it’s personal. God was paying attention to our need. So relational giving means paying attention to the person you are giving to. Relational giving means thinking about your relationship with another and giving “presence” according to who they are.

3. His Gift was costly.

God’s gift cost everything! God didn’t just become man so he could just hang out and have coffee with us. Ultimately the cradle would lead to the cross. The give of the presence of Jesus cost God greatly. And it will cost us. Not nearly the cost Jesus paid. But a cost nonetheless, in time, energy, and thought.

So don’t run up a debt this season. The only debt we should have is the debt to love one another! (Romans 13:8)

The well wisher of your soul’s happiness,

Pastor Tom