Brown Paper Gifts

I appreciate having beautifully decorated Christmas presents. However, I remember a year when my son wrapped his gifts to us in brown package paper, sealed them with duct tape, and wrote our names in marker on the outside. What was inside was great, but I didn’t want him to put the wrapped presents under the tree. (He so enjoyed upsetting traditions and his mom!)

Two thousand years ago God gave the gift of Jesus, but he too came wrapped in brown paper. The Jews expected him to come as their King dressed in royal robes, restoring the Jewish kingdom. Instead, they received a baby born in a shelter for animals, a poor itinerant preacher who died at the hands of the Roman oppressors. They missed the gift, not looking beyond its plain packaging.

 

Sometimes God’s best presents come wrapped in brown paper, but we often prefer those that look good—
beautiful and smart children, popularity, successful good-looking husbands, high-priced vehicles, highly paid jobs, trendy clothes, well-decorated homes, investments, and beauty. When we get less attractive wrapping instead, we may do what the Jews did so long ago—miss the very presence of Jesus and his kingdom.

 

This may be a Christmas when your gifts come wrapped in brown paper—health issues, grief, broken relationships, disappointments, joblessness, or loneliness. Beneath the visible hardship is the gift of Jesus to be with us in our sorrow. He wants the difficult times to draw us more closely into his arms to receive his love, his comfort, and his peace—gifts that are priceless. “Peace on earth” is discovered only in him.

May we recognize the gifts of peace, joy, and love found in Jesus this Christmas and throughout the New Year!