I am sure you have heard the old adage, "It's the thought that counts," usually suggesting that we consider the motivation behind the giving of the gift. Several years ago, Christian singer and songwriter, Twila Paris, recorded a song with the same title—"It's the Thought That Counts." This is the first verse:
And a loving thought sends us out to find Something special for someone on our mind. And we think of friends and our family As we hang our gifts on the Christmas tree. It’s the thought that counts when the thought is Love. It’s the thought that counts when you're thinking of How the money flows in vast amounts. When the thought is Love, it's the thought that counts.
As we have just passed through the Christmas season, I am sure many people can identify with what she is talking about concerning the money that has been spent in the last couple of months. But do we know what these recent weeks were intended by God to be about? We totally misunderstand the purposes of God if all we see are the presents and the Christmas trees—if the thought is Love, it's the thought that counts! Allow me one further illustration—Rex Knowles tells of the day his wife was out Christmas shopping, and he was enjoying a relaxing day on the couch in his den. Relaxing, that is, until he heard one of the kids loudly announce, "Daddy, we have a play to put on. Do you want to see it?"
Daddy didn't, but he knew he would have to, so, he went out to the living room, sat down, and became a one-man audience. If you are a parent or a grandparent, you know the type of play that was about to be performed, but let me describe it anyway—at the foot of the piano bench was a flashlight; it was turned on, and wrapped in "swaddling clothes" and lying in a shoebox. Then six-year-old Rex Jr. came in wearing a bathrobe and carrying a mop-handle. It was anyone's guess where the mop-head was. He was followed by ten-year-old Nancy, also in a bathrobe, who announced, "I'm Mary, and this is Joseph." Then four-year-old Trudy entered the room flapping pillowcases from her arms, declaring that she was an angel. Daddy, of course, knew where his "little angel" had found the pillowcases. Finally, in came eight-year-old Anne, riding a camel. Well, not really a camel—she just looked like it, wearing her mother's high heels. She was arrayed with all of the available jewelry, and was carrying a pillow—topped with three Christmas presents. She went over and bowed down before the "Holy Family" and loudly proclaimed, "I am all three Wise Men. I bring precious gifts—gold, circumstance, and mud."
That was it! The play was over, but Daddy did not laugh. He did not even correct his daughter. Instead, he prayed, because he realized just how close—very close—she was to the truth! Some would argue that she misunderstood, but did she? Someone once suggested that if the Wise Men had been women, they would have been on time, helped in delivering the baby, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts. Of course, much of this is in jest, but don't assume that any of the gifts were impractical! Matthew tells us, "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."(2:11) For us, however, are gold, circumstances, and mud, really all that different from the real gifts—all are very practical! Theologically speaking, the gold the Wise Men brought represents a gift fit for royalty. The Book of Revelation declares, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war…And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (19:11,16) Over the years, gold has come to symbolize our very best possessions, our substance, our material value, but when we consider just who this King really is, our gold is our entire lives given over to Him to do with as He sees fit. It is no longer our possession; in true Christianity, we belong to Him, and as King, He alone rules! Just how precious will your first gift be?
Secondly, little Anne had said that she also brought her circumstances to this King. Theologically speaking, of course, the "frankincense" is a gift of incense offered up to God in worship—an obvious allusion to the fact that the baby in the manger was actually God in the flesh. John, the Gospel writer, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, put it this way: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (1:1,14) Considering this, I think Anne hit the proverbial nail right on the head—since He is God, we can indeed bring our circumstances to Him, expecting to be changed by them; not to get out of them! Our joys and our sorrows, our victories and our defeats, our biggest concerns and our smallest worries, can all be brought to His Throne, and left there.
Yes, left there! Recently, a sales representative from a large national firm was riding around with his new sales manager. Since they were in the salesman's neighborhood, he offered to drop by so the manager could meet his wife and even have a piece of freshly baked apple pie. Surprisingly, the manager became irate, and even hostile—"Let's get one thing straight right now: I'm not interested in your home or your family; not your wife or your children. I'm not even interested in you personally or in any of your circumstances. All I'm interested in is your results, your sales record." Thank God this in no way describes God's attitude. God is interested in you, your family, your home, and all of your circumstances. That is the Good News of Christmas, and that is the Good News for this coming New Year—God cares, so much so, that He sent His Son to be born in a manger and to die on a cross in order to take away the power of sin over our lives and our circumstances. So many today are intent on finding a "God" who will take all of the hard times away, and make the way smooth and easy. Won't happen! God is in control, and He gives those circumstances for a reason—to increase our dependence on Him as we make our way through the things of life. Surely, God is glorified as we bring our lives, as well as our situations, to the "Son of God, love's pure light; Radiant beams from Thy holy face."
The third gift Anne presented to this flashlight in the shoebox was mud! Mud? How is mud a great gift? All of our weaknesses, our failures, our inadequacies, our sins—all of it is like mud that has stained our lives; all of it needs to be washed away by the blood of the Lamb. Yes, even our self-righteousness, our own strength, and our assumptions that our "decent" lives will some how get us through—even to Heaven—must be gone! Isaiah said clearly, "…we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (64:6) Yes, bring the mud, for theologically speaking, the "myrrh," a spice used in burying the dead, would later be used to embalm this precious King and God who would die for you and for me. Twila Paris speaks this truth in her 2nd verse:
And a loving thought sent a snow-white Lamb To a little town known as Bethlehem. And the little Lamb thought of you and me As He hung His gift on the Christmas tree. It's the thought that counts when the thought is Love. It's the thought that counts when you're thinking of All the blood that flowed in vast amounts. When the thought is Love, it's the thought that counts. Think of the precious gift He gave, Think of the life He thought to save!
Think about it! In this New Year of 2005, like little Anne, don't try to pick and choose—be all three Wise Men and bring all three treasures. Oh, yes, He was born to die, but Praise God—our God and King didn't stay dead; He gave Himself to be raised to new life by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that same power is now available to live in all who will humbly bring Him their gold, their circumstances, and their mud!
