One More Gift For God’s Dearly Loved

Tucked in the deepest back part of grandma’s Christmas tree, was one last, rectangular shaped box. Nicky had been watching and counting the presents. HIs little sister had opened three; his older brother, three as well. Grandma, Nicky half-whispered, there’s still one more gift. Her eyes darted and discovered Nicky was right. One more gift remained. Go ahead and grab it for me. Let’s see who its for. She said with the twinkle in her eyes. Nicky slid under the tree, pulled out the box and quickly read the card. To Nicky. From Grandma. Merry Christmas. Nicky stood there proudly as the adult conversations hushed and his siblings set down their gifts. Their eyes were filled with envy as Nicky shook the box near his ear. Go ahead, Nicky. Open it. Grandma encouraged. Nicky popped the box open and scurried through the tissue paper. And there it was. Green and red and white and gold. A sweater. Grandma had spent the past months knitting it for Nicky. Grandma beamed while Nicky tried to hide behind the sweater. The adults in the room prodded him with oohs and aaahs and try it on’s! Out of the corner of his eye, Nicky could see his older brother snickering.

The story of Nicky and the Christmas sweater is fictional, but not far from reality. It’s not hard to imagine a young man like that being less than enthused to open a sweater as his final Christmas gift.

Today, just a few days after Christmas, as we reflect on God’s Word to us from the book of Colossians, we find one more gift remains for us too. And like Nicky’s sweater—it’s clothes. Like Nicky, it was tailor made for us by someone who loves us deeply. And like Nicky—we’re not totally enthused to put it on & wear it.

But instead of a knit sweater featuring red and green, white and gold, our garment is comprised of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance and forgiveness. And of course love. It would be unfair and inaccurate to say that we don’t like or ever live any of these virtues any of the time. Just like it would be unfair and inaccurate to claim that Nicky didn’t like red or green or white or gold or wear any of those colors any of the time. We do. There are moments when our hearts are overwhelmed with compassion. There are times when kindness comes easily. Humility and gentleness feel like second nature. There are relationships where we have even been accused to being too patient, too forbearing, and too forgiving. There are some of these virtues that come more easily to us than others. There are some of these virtues that we exhibit more often than those around us. If we never behaved compassionately, kindly, humbly, gently, patiently, forbearingly, or lovingly, we would be living as if we (1 Jn. 4:8) did not know God. (1 Jn. 4:16) God is love. These virtues are all expressions of love—in one way or another.

And God expects us to wear the clothes he fashioned and made for us constantly. Which, at first, seems unreasonable to us. But look at it another way. If someone were not wearing clothes in public, would saying I wear clothes most of the time be an acceptable defense? Nope. Wearing clothes in public is the expectation. In a similar way, donning compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and love is the expectation for God’s people. And in fact, that is what the rest of society expect as well, too.

Unfortunately, far too often, we find ourselves wearing too little of what God expects. And that is an ugly look for God’s people. Consider the prophet Jonah. God called him to go to Nineveh and preach God’s Word. Even after he was humbled at sea, Jonah still struggled to be kind or compassionate to the city of Nineveh. He had more love for a castor oil plant than he did for that great city. And it was an ugly look for Jonah, when God exposed his impatience, his anger, his bitterness, and his pettiness.

But we don’t look much better in some moments, do we? Like Jonah, there are times when we have little to no compassion for people who are not like us. They don’t talk like we talk, so we talk ourselves out of needing to be kind or patient or forgiving to them. They see themselves and this world in a way that clashes with our sensibilities, so we see that as reason enough to be rude and uncharitable. We struggle to be compassionate and kind, humble and gentle, patient, forbearing and forgiving with people who live differently than we do. We are quick to recognize their sinful thoughts and words, actions and reactions—and foolishly think that gives us an excuse to behave in a way that shames our God. Even our attempts at kindness are often rooted in a tit-for-tat mentality. Help given only to get what we want in the end is not to be confused with God’s idea of kindness.

Few of us would admit we struggle with a big ego or have a pride problem. But one glance at how we respond to criticism—and especially rebuke—reveals otherwise. We may say that we are humble. But do we really value others above ourselves in difficult moments—or only when we know it’s all going to work out in our favor? Instead of offering gentle replies in heated conversations, we lean upon sarcasm. Sometimes, we’re downright rude and petty. Even when we’re not, our motives are anything but pure. We may say we get along with everyone! But selfish love can motivate us to paste a fake smile on our face, be a people pleaser, or avoid healthy conflict. We may say we put everyone first! But playing the victim or throwing yourself a pity party afterwards because you always get neglected, forgotten, or left behind lays bare our lack of humility.

Though we see the value in patience and forbearance and forgiveness, our personal policies comes with a lot of fine print. We’re fine being patient, so long as we don’t have to wait too long. We’re fine being patient, so long as we’re also going to be handsomely rewarded. But God’s concept of patience isn’t merely playing the long game. It’s being long-suffering. It’s being willing to suffer well. And well, that’s not us, most of the time. Far too frequently, we grumble and complain when we are put out—or merely inconvenienced. We grow disillusioned with the tasks and people God calls us to serve. And when they wrong us, instead of forgiving as we have been forgiven, we make people give us good reasons why we should relent from being mad at them.

And so, though God in love that outshines even the best grandma has chosen to bless us with this outfit, we respond as immaturely as fictional Nicky. Though we are God’s chosen people, we have chosen attire that better suits that famously foolish Emperor.

But God, in his grace and mercy, has chosen to send one more. He, too, is holy and dearly loved. And he has happily put on this garb and done for us, in word and deed, what we could not and would not do for ourselves and our God. Let us be thankful. Let us meditate on the message of Christ and ponder the peace he has secured for us.

Christ is God’s first and best gift to us. We’ve heard and even sung this refrain again and again this Christmas season. We can’t hear it too often, Paul tells us, as he implores us to let the message of Christ dwell among us richly as we inculcate the faith through teaching and singing together.

But Paul also provides a fascinating and faith-strengthening lens through which we will look at this gift. Some of the fine details of the robes of Christ’s righteousness are laid out for us here to gaze upon. Christ was compassionate to crowds and to individuals. Even when he was being “inconvenienced” Christ saw the crowds and was deeply moved because he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. When Jesus was visiting the Gerasenes or Nain or Jericho, he looked compassionately upon individuals. The demon-possessed man who lived among the tombs and cut himself with stones. The widow who was burying her only child. The tax collector who was materially wealthy but relationally destitute. Jesus was kind and gentle to the lame, to lepers, and little children. Jesus was patient with Israel’s teacher, Nicodemus, as he instructed him in the matter of being born of the Spirit under the cover of darkness. Perhaps most telling of all, Jesus was most compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient, forbearing and forgiving with the people he spent the most time with—his disciples. He patiently explained the things of God to men who often demonstrated little faith. He humbly washed their feet, hours before his own would be pierced for their transgressions. Jesus was not just compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, forbearing, and forgiving with a few—but all. Even his enemies. Even his abusers. Every single sinner he encountered.

Including you and me. Being forgiven is an incredible gift. One worthy of making a big deal of. But here, in Colossians, we find one more gift for us, this Christmas season. Because God in his grace and mercy, has not just given us his Son, he has dressed us like his Son. In Zechariah 3, there is this stunning scene. Joshua the high priest is standing before the angel of the Lord in filthy clothes. And Satan is giving him the business. Accusing him up and down. And it’s all true. He is filthy. He doesn’t belong there. He is unworthy. But the Lord has the final word. First he speaks to Satan. Zech. 3:2 The Lord rebuke you Satan. The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire? Then the angel of the Lord commands those Zech. 3:4 standing before him: Take off his filthy clothes. Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” Every single time I read that I get chills. I’ve told my wife before, this is the text they are to preach on at my funeral. If you’re there, make sure they do. Because we are nothing more than burning sticks, by nature. But do you see who’s speaking here? Zechariah goes back and forth calling him the angel of the Lord and the Lord, because this is what we call the pre-incarnate Christ, Jesus before he was born of Mary. Listen again to what he says to filthy clothed fools like you and me. I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.

These are the fine garments God has chosen for you and clothed you with. Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. patience. Forbearance and forgiveness. And those things never go out of style. Amen.