Today I’m thinking about gifts—white elephant gifts to be
exact—because tonight we’re going a party and we’re supposed to take a
present. Not a real present, but one of
“those” presents—an item you no longer care to keep in your possession and are
delighted to pass on to some other lucky soul.
A white elephant gift.
Being the somewhat curious sort, I wondered where that label
originated, and after only a bit of time on Google, I discovered that in the
past, the King of Thailand would give white elephants to members of his court
whom he found obnoxious because the high cost of care for the creature would
cause their financial ruin. Hence, a
valuable but burdensome gift whose cost of upkeep exceeds its usefulness came
to be called a white elephant gift. Over
time, the worth of these gifts seems to have lessened, and the term is now
synonymous with a present which is cheap—or, better yet, free.
The best part about a
white elephant gift is the fun you have while playing the gift exchange game
because when you get home with your newly acquired possession, about the only good
thing to do with it is to store it until the same party next Christmas! White elephant gifts are entertaining, they
might be useful, they occasionally can be a bit valuable, but by definition and
tradition, they are not needed.
Jesus was not a white elephant gift. The tag on heaven’s perfect present read, “To you a Savior has been born”(Luke 2:11). The Gift was personal—“To you.” Not to some random participant in life who
drew the lucky number or the last number, but specifically to you individually
and intimately. “To you a Savior has been born.”
You need one desperately, for having Someone to save us is not merely
useful but absolutely imperative.
Without Him we are definitely doomed and damned. And the Gift was precious, for His true value
is beyond our finite measure and understanding.
Interestingly, throughout history, the possession of a white
elephant was a sign that a king reigned with justice and power, and that his
kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity. Our King has come and is coming again. He reigns with justice—the justice of the cross
and the justice of holiness. He reigns
with power, holding the universe together and holding life and death in His
hand(Eph 1:19). And He is our peace and
prosperity—lavishing on us His abundant love(1 John 3:1). This glorious, royal Gift
is free to us because of God’s grace and goodness, but He is not cheap.
White elephant gifts are often
wrapped well but contain little worth.
The present of our King was
wrapped humbly but was priceless.
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