Daily Devotional For Friday, December 15, 2023

Our word for today is WRAPPED. When we think of Christmas wrapping, the first thing our mind goes to is red bows, curled ribbon, shiny paper, and name tags. This was not the first Christmas wrapping. Luke 2:7 tells us, “And she (Mary) brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid hHm in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (KJV). 

The tender power of this moment defies description. Psalm 104:2 pictures God’s greatness by saying, “The Lord wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent” (NIV). God has always wrapped Himself . . . now He is allowing Himself to be wrapped. God who is wrapped in purest light is now being wrapped in the cleanest cloths that can be found in a dirty barn.

Mary wrapped Jesus in cloths and put him in a manger. This was not the last time she was to wrap Him. She wrapped Him for warmth as a young boy and wrapped her arms around Him in love as a teenager. Then, after she stood with her friends and watched her Son die on a cross, Mary watches as Jesus was wrapped in cloths to be put in a tomb. We read in Luke 23:53, “Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock” (NLT). In that day, the way you wrapped a new born baby was the same way you wrapped a corpse to put in a grave.

Being born as a baby certainly seemed to be God’s greatest possible act of humility. It was not. Philippians 2:8 says, "He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross (NLT). The God who wraps Himself in light allowed Himself to be wrapped in cloths and put in a manger at birth and then was wrapped in cloths to be placed in a tomb at His death. In this month of looking at the words of Christmas, this is a moment that leaves us without words.

When we think of wrapping at Christmas, we think of gifts that we give each other. Jesus was the first to be wrapped at Christmas, and He is the greatest gift of all. 2 Corinthians 9:15 in the Message paraphrase says, “Thank God for this gift, His gift. No language can praise it enough!”

We wrap gifts at Christmas because of the swaddling clothes the Christ Child was wrapped in at His birth. Yet, for many people, even Christians, Christmas is not a joyous time. They find themselves “wrapped in emotional cloths” of guilt, shame, failure, fatigue, faults, regrets, failing health, loneliness, isolation, debt and sin. These “cloths” can wrap around us like a boa constrictor wraps itself around a body, squeezing and choking the life out of it. My advice to you this Christmas if this is you: Swap your “wrappings” for Christ’s wrappings. 

Jesus says to you in John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (NLT). This baby was born to give to offer us both eternal life in heaven after death and an abundant life here on this earth. Don’t let that thief, the devil, steal from you the joy of your salvation nor an abundant life here. You blew it and have sinned. Confess it to God. You have failures, mistakes and regrets. Pour your heart out to God and if necessary, see a Christian counselor or a godly and biblical Christian friend. 

Jesus was gift wrapped for us and like any wrapped gift, it is meaningless and worthless, if you do not unwrap it. This Christmas, this Advent, do not let another day go by without unwrapping God’s gift to you — Jesus Christ. How? Ask Him to come into you life and the Savior and Lord of your life. If you are saved, then pour your heart out to God asking God to give you that abundant life He promised. For you, I would end the prayer as Jesus taught us to pray, “Not my will be done, but Your will be done on earth (in my life) as in heaven.” Jesus submitted to Gods’ will for His life— which was death on a cross. Obedience to God opens the life gate for experiencing the abundant life. 

Scripture to Meditate On: Luke 2:12, “And the angels said to the shepherds, And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (KJV).

Prayer to Pray:  “Father, there are no words and there is no language that can express to You the wonder of the gift You have given in Jesus. I know that You hear my heart, even as I struggle to put words to the depth of my feeling. I am so deeply grateful for the gift of Jesus’ love. He humbled Himself and became a baby to bring that love — thank You. And then, He humbled Himself and died a horrible death on the cross to shout that love — thank You. In Jesus’ name, I thank you. Amen.”