“Fridays are for Newpaper Articles… and Acknowledging a ‘Red-Letter Day’”

(Right after this word of joyful acknowledgement, you will find my weekly article in the Canyon Lake [TX] Times-Guardian).

I am a very proud father in regard to my own flesh-and-blood children.  However, today–Friday, December 14–I am particularly proud of one of my “adopted” kids: Emily Hunter McGowin.  She is receiving her Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Truett Seminary at Baylor University, Waco, TX, at 6:00 this evening.  And, I’m sure, as always, that they won’t have a set of academic honors with high enough standards to describe how bright and creative she is and what wonderful work she has done in that program.

Emily is, quite simply, both the most brilliant student I have ever had and the most brilliant human being I have ever known in my life… and I have had the opportunity to have known quite a few who would qualify as legitimate geniuses.  But, what sets Emily apart from almost all the rest of the scary smart folks is two things: 1) she is humble, having fought off the tendency to “grow” the massive ego that almost always goes with an astronomical IQ; and 2) she truly cares about the hurting people around her, not just theoretically, but with open arms and listening ears.  This is in stark contrast to many of the brilliant, who refuse to be bothered by real life and “the little people.”

I confess that one of the greatest honors I have ever had in a 30-plus year ministry career in which I have received more honors than I deserved (it’s called “grace”) has been to have Emily as a student and, on a number of scholarly papers, articles and published book reviews, as a co-author.  In my opinion, born out of quite a bit of observation and interaction, she is, and will further prove to be over the next 40-50 or more years (she is still in her earlier 20s, having graduated from both high school and college in three years), a one out of a small handful talent among her entire generation, if the Lord tarries. 

My prayerful best wishes go with Ron and Emily (I was also blessed to do their wedding, along with Dr. Ergun Caner, another of their former profs at Criswell) as they now get into their new ministry in earnest together!  My good friend, Dr. Rick Garner, is blessed that the Lord has moved them to Liberty Heights Church (SBC), between Cincinatti and Dayton, OH. 

        “What Has Been Your Best Christmas Gift?” 

            Though it is not the question I asked—I’ll get to that later, my favorite Christmas gift as a child was a first basemen’s mitt, which I received when I was 11 years old.  That was just in time to be able to play first base in Little League my last year (when I was 12).  To me, that gift was so wonderful that I don’t remember anything else I received that year or, frankly, for several years around it.

            Did you ever receive a gift that affected you that way, pretty much taking your breath away with the sheer delight that it brought?  Hopefully, you have each had that kind of experience.  In my opinion, it is somewhat sad if you have not.  There are few things in life that compare with the joy of receiving the kind of gift that is just right for you at the point where you are in life.

            Now, let me get back to my original question: What has been the best Christmas gift you have ever received?  Your answer may well be considerably different to this question.  Why?  Because seeing a gift from the world-centered-on-self perspective of a child is not the same as seeing it from the analytical perspective of an adult—assuming the adult is more than an overgrown child, of course!

            Your answers may vary wildly.  For some, it may be something very big, such as a car, some generous financial gift when you were in need or even getting into a new home.  For others, it may be keepsakes, such as a watch or a piece of jewelry that are not that valuable, but which mean the world to you, because they belonged to one of your parents or grandparents.  For still others, their best gift may be relational, getting to visit someone you love whom you haven’t seen in some time, or that person or persons coming to be with you.

            Among my older readers, I suspect that not a few of you feel your best Christmas gift was in this last category.  As you age, unless you are highly materialistic, most people tend to get to where the most previous things in their lives are their relationships with those closest to them.

            In my case, after having to spend Christmas away from one or more of my three children now more than once, I definitely have moved into that category.  In other words, I have come to the point of agreeing whole-heartedly that the best Christmas gifts are relational.  And, I am looking forward with great anticipation to having several days with one of my daughters—the other one can’t get off work (a new job) in Southern California—and at least getting to see my son for a few hours.

            However, in my opinion, the ultimate answer to my question (“What has been your best Christmas gift?”) is another kind of relational gift.  The Apostle John tells us about it in John 3:16: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” 

            Notice that God the Son coming into the world to be born on that first Christmas in Bethlehem took place because God the Father was giving the whole world an incredible gift.  It was—and still is—the salvation Jesus came to bring about through His death on the Cross and Resurrection from the dead.

            How do you receive the first and greatest Christmas gift from God Himself?  Ephesians 2:8-9 explains clearly: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; it is not of yourselves.  It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”  In other words, if you simply ask Jesus into your life by simply trusting in His work on the Cross, you will, along with many millions of others, know by experience the reality of the best Christmas gift of all this year.

 

Coming Monday: Serious Thinking toward an SBC Reform Agenda: “The Priority of Prayer (Conclusion)”