Giving Outside the Box

Sweaters. Shirts. Ties. Robes. Socks and slippers. These steady
standbys rank among the most predictable gifts people give or receive
at Christmas. We have all lived the scene: a scribbled list of gifts
for friends and family; merging with the overcrowded mall masses to
sort through sales racks; standing in line for way too long; stuffing
the gifts into the car trunk; and, finally—being way too
tired to enjoy it, but facing the immediacy of Christmas
morning—sinking onto the floor at home to wrap each gift in a
square of gold or red foil, finishing off the package with a pre-made
bow or the scrape of the scissors to curl the ribbon.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if giving forgiveness and grace were
as intentionally planned or neatly packaged? While such gifts could be
considered “out of the box,” they are perhaps the
most important ones we can give this Christmas.

From the time of His birth, Scripture describes Christ as being full of
grace and truth (Luke 2:40; John 1:14). We who follow Him have a
responsibility to give what He first gave us—grace. Consider
for a moment the saying, “You cannot give what you have not
received.” Through Christ’s incarnation,
sacrificial death, and resurrection we have received a wholly
undeserved gift: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in
this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.
5:8).

Because God has given this gift to us, He calls us “to serve
others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various
forms” (1 Pet. 4:10). That is true of our spiritual gifts and
it should be true of our spiritual graces. We must give grace away
… and freely.

Giving the gift of grace may seem impossible—especially to
those who have wounded us the most. But just as it was impossible to
receive God’s grace without His decision to give it, we can
trust that He will enable us to do what we must in the power only He
can give. We can forgive because we have been forgiven.

In this issue of Kindred
Spirit we invite you to contemplate this gift of grace.
Take an imaginary journey with the Magi, who came to worship the
ultimate Magistrate born in a manager; discover what gift God has
wanted from the time of Genesis; and perhaps add a few names to the
shopping list as you read about our brothers and sisters who are
serving Christ in Africa.

This Christmas I encourage you to look for gifts that are out of the
box.

About the Contributors

Mark L. Bailey

Dr. Bailey assumed the role of DTS Chancellor after serving for 19 years as the Seminary’s fifth President, and continues his role as Sr. Professor in the Bible Exposition department. In addition to his years at Dallas Theological Seminary, he has pastored various churches in Arizona and Texas. He was a seminar instructor for Walk Thru the Bible Ministries for twenty years and is in demand for Bible conferences and other preaching engagements all over the country and world. His overseas ministries have included Venezuela, Argentina, Hungary, and China. He is also a regular tour leader in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Rome. His board service includes Bible Study Fellowship, Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, and Word of Life.