Empty Presents

I just got back from Christmas shopping.  I LOVE finding that perfect gift – the gift that just reminds you of your loved one.  And, thankfully, I found a lot of those today!  (And I found some silly little things for myself…like a 5 dollar compilation CD of “The Four Great Tenors”.  Haha.  Sometimes, you just need to hear Jose Carreras sing “The Impossible Dream”….)

 

I came home and found myself spreading out the spoils of my shopping trip – getting excited about what my family members and friends will say when they open their gifts (and how they’ll laugh J).  Christmas can be so fun, can’t it?  And yet, I can almost feel God gently calling me to spend time with Him each day…to remember that it’s actually His birthday we’re celebrating…and to give him a present, too.

 

And God wants my presence.

 

These past few weeks have just been chock full of teaching, coaching, traveling, grading, reading, etc.  And I get to the end of the day feeling tired and not wanting to do anything that involves deep thinking.  So, sadly, my first end-of-the-day thought is not to spend time reading God’s word and praying.  Honestly, not only would it bring joy to God’s heart, but - it would also be the most refreshing option out there. 

 

Why wouldn’t I want to be reminded of who God is?

Why wouldn’t I be excited to read of His great love for me?

Why wouldn’t I want to talk with Him about the struggles of my day? 

What better listener or advice-giver exists?

 

As I look back through my journal over the past month, I can see that God has taught me quite a few things.  I think I can quickly touch on them and “wrap” it all up at the end.  (Get it?  Present pun. J)

1.       Oh…to be famous. 

I spent around 3.5 hours in a local grocery store one Friday night in November, disguised as a young mother.  (my get-up was complete with a blond wig and fake baby doll – which looked surprisingly real…)  As I wandered around the store, waiting for my high school students to find me as part of the scavenger hunt they were on, I found myself reading the Guinness Book of World Records to pass the time.  Did you know that you can make it into this book by having the most Harry Potter paraphernalia, having surgeries to look like Superman (what some people will do for a cleft chin!), breaking 10 pieces of wood with a weight attached to your hair, and eating 6 hotdogs in 3 minutes?  Or...you could be “Flash”, the world’s fastest guinea pig who can run 32 feet in 8 seconds. 

People go to great lengths to be famous.  And it doesn’t have to be “Guinness Book” famous.  We all go to such great lengths to be recognized by other men – and yet, how far do we go to be recognized by God?  We want our names in record books – yet don’t seem to care as much about making sure our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life – and that our actions are making God smile. 

What do I want to be famous for?

2.       What kind of star am I? 

Jude 12 describes false teachers as “clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted – twice dead…wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever.”  All of these images bring to mind something that promises and does not deliver.  However, I was stuck on the wandering stars.  What were these stars not delivering?  And then I read MacDonald’s Bible Commentary:

“Wandering stars are celestial bodies that do not move in regular orbit.  They are worthless as navigational aids.  How appropriate a description of false teachers!  It is impossible to get spiritual direction from these religious meteors, falling stars, and comets who blaze brightly for a moment, then fizzle out into darkness like firework rockets.” 

Ooh.  God asks his followers to shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the Word of life (Philippians 2:15-16).  And yet – if we are not grounded in the Lord – we, too, could be like a wandering star – not pointing people to Christ.  We could promise direction, but not give it because our lives are empty.  As a Bible teacher at a Christian school – what kind of star am I like?  I want to be a “fixed” star.

3.       The World Concerns Conference

I spent the early part of Thanksgiving break with some students and fellow staff members in Washington, D.C.  We were privileged to hear from wonderful speakers who inspired us to truly reach out into this hurting world with Christ’s love.  There were quite a few good one-liners:

a.       “In a world of radical selfishness, if we live selflessly, the world will notice.”  Mike Yankowski

b.      “What in your life is going to matter 1000 years from now?”  Joe Baker

c.       “Leadership is lonely.  And you must forge the path.”  Lila Rose

d.      “Average is your enemy.”  Garland Hunt

e.      “When faced with the troubling problems of today, many people ask:  What’s God’s plan?  Christians, you’re the plan.”  – Bruce Main

One of my favorite speakers was a woman named Bernadette Todd.  She was confined to a wheelchair and told us her story.  She started off by asking us, “What are the secret things that break your heart that no one can see?”  And then after explaining all of her struggles, she said:  “I saw that His [God’s] love for me was greater than all of my sufferings…Our God is a God of miracles – and He turns our teardrops into rainbows…God has a purpose in what he allows in our life (John 9:1-3)…Are we allowing the work of God to be displayed in our lives?  What do we have that God can use?”  Powerful. 

As I drove back to North Carolina after my Thanksgiving break, I heard Andy Stanley on the radio talking about the parable from Matthew 25.  He reminded us that life isn’t “fair”, or even.  We all get time – but different amounts of it.  We all get opportunity – but different amounts of it.  What are we doing with what God has given us? 

Great question.  What am I doing?  What does God want me to do?

4.       Yawning Planks.

As a teacher, it’s slightly depressing to have students falling asleep in your class.  It doesn’t really matter if it’s early morning – when you love your subject – it’s frustrating that everyone doesn’t share your passion!  And it’s even more frustrating when the subject you teach is Bible…because understanding the Bible has eternal significance.  I found myself getting angered at my seemingly complacent students…and then realized that many times I get up to do my devotions and look exactly like my students!  They look outwardly “bored” – and there are days I read the Bible in the morning, yawning and having trouble keeping my eyes open.  Isn’t God’s word more important than that?  I realized that like many other things – I need to get the plank out of my own eye before removing the speck from my brothers’ eyes.  I do want to be a workman who is not ashamed and correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).  But I need to actually be present in my devotions.

5.       “Precious”

“…All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.”  (Psalm 139:16-18). 

This passage reminded me to embrace each day – for God had ordained EACH day for me.  Crazy.  So, I shouldn’t just be living for Christmas break. J  But what also stuck out to me was the Hebrew word for precious.  “Yagar” literally means “to be heavy, valuable”.  What weighs upon my heart?  What do I spend my time thinking of?  Is it truly valuable?  Is it thoughts of Jesus? 

 

Whew.  Lots of lessons, eh?  I’m so glad that God has patiently taught me similar versions of the same lesson over and over.  His patience is overwhelming.

 

He reminded me His recognition is what’s most important – not being famous in the Guinness Book of World Records.  He showed me that wandering stars are useless as navigational tools, as are Christians who try to shine the light of God without sticking to the Word.  God wants to use His people to reach others with His light and truth – to be His hands and His feet in a hurting world that so desperately needs hope.  But how can we display that hope when we get so caught up in the unimportant – and are also guilty of putting other things before God…and don’t consider Him our most precious thought?  He cannot use lives that are empty of Him.

 

Oooh. 

 

God deserves to be (and desires to be) acknowledged (Hosea 6:3, 13:4) for both who He is and what He has done.  God has given us many remarkable gifts.  He has given us His Son, Jesus – whose birth we remember this season – yet he has also given us new compassions every morning!  (Lamentations 3:21-23)

 

Too often I am guilty of giving God “empty presents”.  I may promise to spend time with Him and then I neglect Him for something else.  Many times, I lack the strength of character to give Him the present of my presence.  Because as unbelievable as it is – the God of the universe wants to spend time with me!

 

So, as I look at the spread of gifts I purchased today lying under my Christmas tree, I pray that God would help me to remember that nobody likes an empty present…not even Him.  And when I spend time in His presence, I’ll find that it not only helps me personally, but it also helps me to make sure that the gifts I give to others are not empty either…because they will be filled with His love…and His wisdom (helping me to not be a wandering star!)

 

This Christmas season is truly all about Him.  May we not forget place thoughtful presents for our friends and family members under the tree…but may we never place an empty present before the manger.