Take Another Look at Your Gifts from God the Father!

1st Sunday after Christmas, 12/29/13
Galatians 4:4-7


Take Another Look at Your Gifts from God the Father!
I. God the Son, who redeemed you
II. God the Holy Spirit, who made you an heir



If your celebration of Christmas included gift opening with a group of people, you know what a frenzy that can be, especially if little children are involved. There are empty boxes, torn wrapping paper, ribbons and bows all over the floor. Next to each person in the room is a growing pile of opened gifts. One after another person in the room exclaims, “Look what I got!” and everyone offers that person a few seconds of their attention, but then it’s on to opening another gift. Only in rare cases do you take the opportunity to hold the gift in your hands for a good deal of time and really focus on that gift.

That kind of undivided attention to each and every gift is reserved for the days after Christmas. The guests have gone home, the room has been cleared of the wrapping paper, and the gifts are all piled neatly under the tree. It’s quiet once again. Perhaps you’re alone in the room. And now you have the opportunity to look at each gift for as long as you like, stare at every side of each one, to read any literature or instructions that may have been included with them, to put some batteries in them or plug them into the wall socket and to see how they work. You’re beginning to appreciate each gift for what it is. Each one has your undivided attention.

This First Sunday after Christmas gives us that very same blessed opportunity. For the most part the fanfare of Christmas is past. The incessant Christmas advertising is quiet. The busyness is over. Now it’s time to take out our gifts from none other than God himself and take another look at them. Paul’s words to the Galatians encourage each of us to do just that this morning. Take another look at your gifts from God the Father. As we do that, our God promises to bless us spiritually all over again.

Part I.

Early this month President Obama’s uncle made the national and international news. It seems he had been living here in the US as an illegal immigrant for more than 30 years. If the information I read is correct, he had ignored deportation orders more than once. He claims he paid his taxes. But he wasn’t here legally—not until a federal judge issued him a green card. Omar Obama was thankful for it, but I wonder just how much his life has changed now that he has that card. He appears to have lived quite nicely without it all these years. Now that his status has changed, I wonder if his life is any different.

In this portion of his letter to the Galatians, Paul is speaking about the tremendous change in status that God’s people are enjoying. He includes you and me. Did you notice? Does it strike you every day how different your life is?

Maybe not. Probably not. It sounds like taking another look at what our God has done for us might help us do just that. Paul says it like this, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Paul is speaking here about Christmas, the sending of Jesus to this world. We just celebrated it. Now I want you to focus on the reason for his coming to this earth. Paul says it was to redeem us. That’s the great change that our God has accomplished in our lives. He bought us back from Satan.

Just how did that occur? Listen again to Paul. “He sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law.” In two short phrases Paul speaks a divine and saving mouthful. He rightly points us to who Jesus is. He is the Son of God and he is born of a woman. He is God and he is man. He is fully divine and fully human at the same time. Our Savior had to come to this earth as both and Paul tells us why.

He came here to live under law. That’s Paul’s way of referring to every command of God, every thread of his holy will. Everything God the Father wanted Jesus to do, he did, perfectly. He lived an absolutely holy life. And on several occasions during his life God the Father spoke his divine approval of his Son. He did everything perfectly for us, in our place.

And then he died to pay the penalty for every one of our violations of God’s will. Whatever number of sins there are—and certainly they are beyond number—Jesus shouldered them and took them to the cross. There the God-man Jesus paid for them. For all of my sins. For all of yours.

He did that to redeem us, to buy us back, to make us his own. Martin Luther wrote that he did his work of redemption “so that I could be his own and live with him in his kingdom.” Every one of us has citizenship here in the USA and all the blessings that citizenship entails. But you have something far greater, beyond imagination. You are a redeemed child of God who is right now living in the kingdom of God. Your baptism makes that solid declaration. Christmas isn’t about a day, a week or even a month. It’s about eternity. You’ve been redeemed for eternity by the Son of God himself.

Take another look at your gifts from God the Father. He gave you God the Son who redeemed you.

Part of the gift exchange experience is watching the reaction of the recipient of your gift. You spent a good deal of time and effort in getting that gift and you want to see how it will be received.

Do you ever wonder if God the Father does the same thing? At Christmas he gives us the gift of his Son. Is your reaction one of astounding wonder or emotionless thanks? Is it a reaction of undeserved gratitude, or time-worn disinterest? Is it lasting devotion or short-lived praise? Even if our reaction is only God-disappointing once, it’s far too often. Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations afforded us the opportunity to take in the wonder of it all. How amazing that God would deliver on his promise to send us a Savior from sin in such an astounding way! Today we take another look at that Gift and ponder what that Gift does for us. He redeemed us. He bought us back, sinful creatures that we are. He showered his love upon us even though he knew our reaction to that love would be less than appreciative and heartfelt. So take another look at your Gift from God the Father. He is God the Son who redeemed you to be his forever.

Part II.

I’m sure that at one time or another in your life you dreamed of what it would be like to be the son or daughter of someone rich and famous. Imagine living that kind of life—you have just about whatever you want and as much of it as you want. It sounds wonderful at first, but then we recall what has happened to such people in too many cases. It doesn’t end well. In fact, it ends tragically. Having whatever they want ruined their lives. Their relationship with someone rich and famous ruined them.

Paul closes our text speaking about our relationship with someone who has it all and it brings us no harm at all. In fact, it brings us nothing but the best. He writes, “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’” God the Father has given us another gift—the Holy Spirit. While Jesus has redeemed us, it’s the Holy Spirit who brings us into God’s family. He does that by bringing us to faith in Jesus as our Savior. That’s a family relationship you’ve probably enjoyed for decades.

In that family you have a loving, trusting relationship with your heavenly Father. Your God is not out to get you, to see how he can make your life miserable. He brought you into his kingdom in order to bless you. You can count on that. He wants only what is best for you. And so we can approach him in prayer as dear children asking their dear father. To encourage us to do just that, Paul uses the common Jewish word for father, “Abba.”

And if we’re God’s children, then this is also true, “And since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” Being an heir in someone’s will is almost always a blessed situation. You stand to receive a gift, and sometimes that gift is worth a considerable amount of money. You are an heir of the holy God, but don’t look for him to shower you with cash. He has something far better in store. He wants you to spend eternity with him in perfect bliss and glory. Not all the money in the world could buy that and it’s yours. It already belongs to you.

Take another look at your gifts from God the Father. He gave you God the Holy Spirit, who made you an heir.

Have you ever felt even momentarily that God has been stingy with you? Do you look with longing at what other people have? Do you wish your life were more like someone else’s? It happens to all of us. But then we come to our spiritual senses once again as we recall what Christmas is all about. God sent his Son to redeem us. God sent his Holy Spirit to us to make us heirs of all that God is and all that he has. The stuff all around us lasts only a lifetime. Our God has showered us with gifts that are eternal. So, as the tunes of Christmas die down, and as the routine of life returns, recall each day how blessed you are to have your Savior, Jesus Christ, and every blessing that he won for you. That’s what Christmas is all about. Take a daily look at your gifts from God the Father. Amen.