By Ife J. Ibitayo
I once lost my ID. I’d been hustling my way through the airport, trying to catch a flight, when I flashed my ID to a TSA agent. Somewhere in the bustle of unpacking my luggage at security and boarding my flight, my ID vanished. But I didn’t even know this had occurred until I received a mysterious letter in the mail.
I opened the thin envelope and found my ID card wrapped in a note. The stranger told me about how they’d found my identification and decided to mail it to me. They also shared the love of Jesus Christ. I was already a Christian at the time, but the gratitude that flooded my heart was close to a conversion experience.
The Most Unexpected Gift
I remembered this story as I was shopping for Christmas presents for my family. I realized that the best presents we receive are often things we never knew we needed, but once we receive them, we don’t know how we lived without them. The greatest example of that is the love of Jesus Christ.
Many of us walk through life with holes in our souls. Because of our relationship—or lack thereof—with our parents, we feel unloved and unwanted. Or discrimination we’ve faced on the job has blasted gaping holes in our self-worth. Or our sweetheart bitterly broke our heart this holiday season. We’ve tried to fill this hole with just the right present—fresh kicks, a new car, or a bigger house—or presence—a new lover, a new boss, or a new friend. But the hole within us hasn’t just remained, it’s grown larger until the whole of us is empty. But then Jesus crawls down the chimneys of our hearts lugging an unexpected present: a cross.
He left His home so that He could bring us home. He gave up His family so that He could make us family. And He sacrificed His life so that we could truly live. He gave the only gift that could truly fill our void: Himself.
Conclusion
Which brings me to my second story. This year, I knew a small group who wrapped Christmas presents for college students on campus. They spent over a month filling the boxes with goodies and writing personalized letters as they prepared for the day when they would hand deliver them to the students who would receive them. But at the last minute, they were notified that someone else would be giving those presents to the students. These young men never got the chance to see the impact their unexpected gifts would make in the lives of others.
But the power of an unexpected gift always carries wings. It will last for years in the memories of those blessed by it. It will spread from person to person, family to family, and even nation to nation as countless others share its story. And it will live on in our hearts just like the love of that precious baby boy who was born in a manger 2000 years ago.
“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”
(2 Corinthians 9:15)