For The Person Who Has Everything
Originally scheduled for
July 5
Neiman
Marcus has long had a section in its catalog featuring a Christmas gift “for
the person who has everything.” Some of those gifts included:
For
a mere $110,000, a motorcycle capable of speeds up to 190 miles per hour.
Excellent for senior citizens commuting to church.
You
prefer four wheels? How about a replica of a 1914 Stutz Bearcat racing car?
A
personal favorite: his and hers matched Brahma bulls, with the note solemnly
stating that they would be “gift wrapped as best we can.”
Compare
these with the gifts that every Christian is given:
God
has given us himself, in the person of Jesus the Christ. We give things; he
gives himself.
In
so doing God has given us our salvation. We don’t deserve it, therefore it
must be a gift.
Cars,
motorcycles and cattle soon go the way of all things temporal. God gives us
eternal life.
Which
brings us to a problem: what do you give to the God who quite literally has
everything?
We
are taught to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to him. Parents are
pleased when their children do as they are taught; how much more pleasing is
this to our heavenly Father?
Our
love – heart, soul, mind and strength – pleases him too, for God is love.
But
here at Communion we give something small – but very pleasing to him. We
remember what he has done for us. As grandparents love thank you notes from
their grandchildren, so too God is pleased when you remember his sacrifice for
you. As you partake, then, remember just what great gifts you have been given
– and what price was paid to give them. You cannot repay or earn them, but you
can remember and give thanks.
