Thanks Be to God for His Unspeakable Gift!

Introduction

What a beautiful tradition is gift-giving! For those whose love language is giving and receiving gifts, Christmas is the best time of the year, although nothing stops a cheerful giver from giving a gift when least expected. Now synonymous with expressing affection and celebration, gift-giving has not always been packaged with the pretty trappings of altruism. The historical roots of gift-giving reveal nations' underlying motives of self-interest and self-preservation. The rhetoric of one nation giving gifts to another involved a complex web of diplomacy, political alliance, and conflict resolution. We see multiple examples of this in the Bible even between the estranged Jacob and Esau, both of whom became entire nations of peoples, as the Lord had prophesied to Rebekah. As Jacob presented before Esau his caravan of peace offerings out of the terror of his soul: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 milch camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys, he humbly sought Esau's acceptance and forgiveness.

Although Esau magnanimously extended forgiveness to Jacob without initially receiving his gift, his eventual acceptance of Jacob's gift verified the sincerity of his forgiveness. Had Esau rejected Jacob's gift, he would have confirmed Jacob's fears of his unmitigated desire for revenge; a merely verbal expression of forgiveness could have served as a mask for future treachery. Esau's rejection of Jacob's gift would also have prevented Jacob from making full restitution and would therefore have heaped Esau's insult upon Jacob's angst. Therefore, the gift served as the bridge over which both brothers could pass in order for reconciliation to occur. With good reason did Solomon write, "A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men" (Proverbs 18:16). These twin rivals did reunite briefly that day, after twenty years of bitter separation, only to part permanently thereafter. But the rhetoric of a gift given and received ensured that separation did not come at the expense of peace.

The Rhetorical Language of Gift-Giving

The rhetoric of gift-giving involves all three aspects of Aristotle's rhetorical triangle, which serves as the classical model of persuasion: ethos, logos, and pathos. Ethos, from which we derive the word "ethical," speaks to the giver's credibility; logos, from which we derive the word "logical," speaks to the gift's value and logical function or purpose; and pathos, from which we derive the word "pathology" and a concept of pain, speaks to the receiver's emotional connection to both the giver and the gift and to his ability to offer an appropriate response. Whether or not we are aware of it, all this goes on in the rhetoric of giving and receiving gifts. No wonder we are emotionally exhausted after the holidays when this happens multiple times with multiple people giving and receiving multiple gifts!

The first and most obvious aspect of gift-giving is the ethos or credibility of the giver himself. A giver's motivation can be altruistic, such as the cheerful giver whom the Lord loves (II Corinthians 9:7), or it can be ulterior and manipulative, such as those gifting judges in Bible times, which the law of Moses forbad (Exodus 23:8) and which later defined the corruption of the entire nation of Israel (Isaiah 1:11, 23). We speak of a gift being given with "strings attached" because the giver wants control or something in return. Certainly, the giver defines the gift, as American poet James Russell Lowell so aptly observed, saying, "The gift without the giver is bare." Such a gift is naturally resented even if not outright rejected.

But then we also have the logical value of the gift itself, which should carry the ultimate dynamic in the entire process. Even a giver lightly regarded may be viewed with higher esteem when he bestows a gift of surpassing value. On the other hand, we sometimes chuckle at a bonus gift and quip, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Or there is the gift that is almost embarrassing. I remember one time, when I was about four years old, my older sister made a bobby sock doll for me for Christmas with button eyes. It was so ugly I felt sorry for it, but I don't know whatever happened to it! I also vividly remember one Christmas when my parents gave my younger sister a gorgeous leather Bible in her teen years. She was so moved with emotion that, despite her natural businesslike reserve, she stood up, reached across the couch, and hugged my mother's neck and began to cry out loud. I have cherished that lovely contorted look on her face over the years as I have watched her build her life on the Word of God decade after decade as a wife, mother, and teacher. That was a perfect rhetorical triangle working at that moment.

And last, and perhaps most important of all, we have the emotional response or pathos of the reception of the gift. Does the receiver indeed receive the gift, and if so, how? After all, a gift cannot be given if it is not received. A receiver's reactions may fall into one or more of three categories: gratitude and welcome; disdain and rejection; or neglect and indifference. Years ago, I knew of a well-meaning young man with socially awkward shyness who shocked a girl he barely knew with a shower of expensive gifts. Her mother graciously but firmly refused them, believing her daughter could not be beholden to someone she did not know or even like. What a painful reminder that was of the failed persuasive act of gift-giving! Whether the young man ever got over her I don't know, but he never married. But have you ever wondered what happened to a gift you gave because you never saw it again? Was it exchanged or given away or simply neglected or even lost? All this anxiety surrounds the reception of the gift the giver sought to bestow.

The Gifts of the Magi

When the communication channels of gift-giving work properly, we have a timeless image of Christmas such as the gift-giving of the Magi for baby Jesus. Certainly, the Magi themselves established their ethos as genuine givers in traveling so far to worship Christ in the first place and then in traveling so far out of their way to return home after Herod's intended chicanery. The gifts they gave also providentially carry symbolism as linked with ethical, logical, and emotional aspects of Christ's life and ministry. The gold spoke to Christ's ethos or ethical credibility as royalty; the frankincense spoke to his Divine Logos as the Word of God in His priestly role, and the myrrh spoke to the pathos of His passion, suffering, and death. And we can certainly picture the pathos of this scene as these renowned and dignified men from the Orient knelt before humble Mary and Joseph to worship their King. And baby Jesus must have reached up to touch their faces with the wonder of His infant love.

God's Unspeakable Gift

When the Apostle Paul utters his heart's cry of thanks to God for His unspeakable gift (II Corinthians 9:15), he is demonstrating a perfect balance of these three rhetorical aspects of gift-giving. He expresses first his resounding emotional reaction of thanks, then bookending it with the superlative that describes the gift: "unspeakable." In the middle of all this he identifies God Himself as the Giver who indeed by His Divine Ethos unites gift with receiver. We could fill page after page of just what "good and perfect gifts" our Lord has given us (James 1:17). We could quote Scripture after Scripture precisely identifying each time God's name is linked with the words "gift" or "give" in His Word. To name a few, Jesus spoke of the gift of living water to the woman at the well (John 4:10-14). Luke writes of the gift of the Holy Spirit given not only to the Apostles but also to the Gentiles (Acts 2:38; 10:45; 11:1). James writes of the gift of wisdom that the Lord gives to all who ask for it (James 1:5), and we think of Solomon's integrity in praying for this most kingly of gifts.

We could list all the spiritual gifts outlined in Romans and in I Corinthians 12, and we could fill page after theological page tracing every Scripture mentioning the gift of God's grace given to all men (Romans 5:15,17; Ephesians 4:7). We could identify the gift of righteousness from God because of His grace (Romans 5:16-18) with Paul's emphasis that this gift is free. Isn't every gift "free"? But this is not a redundancy; it proves the grace behind the gift. We can't earn it and we didn't deserve it, but God gave it anyway to those who will to receive it. We could certainly link all these gifts to the eternal life that proves the value of each of them (Romans 6:23). We could speak of the gift of salvation when by grace through faith we receive it from God. We could speak even of the gifts of godly occupations that edify the church on earth, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.

But the most important gift of all is Christ Himself (Ephesians 4:7), Who is both perfect Gift and perfect Giver. His redeeming love, given from His unutterable holiness, reaches past our complete unworthiness to receive our deepest thankfulness. May He indeed receive from us this day, as He received from the Magi so long ago, the gold, frankincense, and myrrh of our sacrifice of praise, and may our lips and lives speak of His unspeakable gift to everyone we meet!