I recall as a child the excitement of unwrapping a gift. Whether it was a birthday gift or a Christmas gift or just some random surprise, it did not matter. The thrill was the same no matter the occasion. There is just something about a wrapped gift that intensifies the gift-giving/receiving process. Just to think that the giver put the time and effort into making the outside look nice and appealing adds to the experience. Not knowing what the gift is, makes your mind run wild with endless possibilities of what it could be.
You look at the ribbons and bows and start to imagine all the things you could do with the gift inside. You can imagine yourself standing on the bank of a river pulling in a record-breaking catch with your brand new fishing rod. You may imagine yourself checking the time with a brand new watch. You may be imagining yourself on a plane flying across the globe with that ticket to Hawaii. Or you may be imagining yourself pulling a set of keys out of that beautifully wrapped box that belongs to a new car, sitting outside in the driveway.
But no matter what may be inside the wrapping, nothing changes until you actually unwrap the gift. A wrapped gift does fulfill expectations. A gift remaining wrapped and unopened is the same as never receiving the gift at all. Once the gift has been opened and the contents revealed, that is when imagination and dreams can become reality.
You cannot catch the fish without first unwrapping the pole. You can’t tell the time without unwrapping the watch. You can’t frolic on the beaches of Hawaii without first receiving the plane ticket. And you can’t cruise up and down the highway in your brand new car if you didn’t first open the box with the keys. Personally, I have never received a gift as extravagant as a car or a paid vacation. However, I have unwrapped gifts that have left me speechless and touched.
The time that it took to unwrap the gift was worth the wait. Days of having to stare at a wrapped box, hidden under a tree, or even sitting in plain sight. The wrapped gift is special. There is thought put behind it. There is a meaning behind it. There is love behind it. When the gift is opened, that is when the thought, meaning, and love are revealed.
I think about the life of Jesus and how after His birth, He was found by the shepherds wrapped in swaddling clothes. What a gift to the world! A child sent to save, restore, and redeem. What great anticipation there must have been. Wise men came from afar to worship this new King.
No doubt, some imagined that this baby would grow into a mighty man, to one day drive out the invaders from their land. A man who would build an army and restore the ways of old. They saw Him sitting upon a throne, just like David. So many possibilities wrapped up in swaddling clothes.
But there came a day that this precious gift would be re-wrapped. Not with swaddling clothing or a kingly robe, but with chains and bindings. Jesus was bound and led away under the cover of night, to conceal Him from the people. Remember, keeping an unopened gift is like never receiving a gift at all. This was the high priest’s plan, to never allow the gift to be opened.
As the events transpired Jesus was beaten, battered, ridiculed, and spit upon. Once again this precious gift would be re-wrapped, this time in a purple robe of mockery and a crown of thorns. They tried to portray Jesus as a pretender and not a real king. This was an attempt to lessen the value and worth of the gift.
To the crowd, he didn’t look like a king or a mighty man. They had no problems throwing this gift away. They cried crucify him, and a cross was thrown upon His back. Pointing him in the direction of Golgotha, the soldiers whipped, shoved, and kicked what was now deemed by most to be worthless trash.
Once at Calvary, he was crucified. The nails pierced His hands and feet, the rugged wood of the cross splintered into the flesh of His already mutilated back. As the spear ripped through His side, the contents of this gift spilled upon the ground. A bloody and shameful sight. The people must have thought that this gift was now destroyed.
After the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took his body and prepared it for burial. Once more he was wrapped, this time in linen. He was placed in a borrowed tomb, where I’m sure they thought that the body of Jesus would lie in that very spot until the myrrh and aloe dried up, and the decaying process began. I’m sure that to them, it felt as that all hopes and dreams were lost. An unwrapped, unseen gift is like never receiving a gift at all.
But on the third day, upon seeing that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance of the tomb, Mary Magdalene ran to Peter and the others. She told them that the tomb was empty and that someone had taken the Lord’s body. They rushed to the tomb and looked inside, to see an empty wrapper laying there. The napkin that had covered Jesus’ head lay there wrapped up by itself.
It was at that time, the Bible states the disciples saw and believed. It was then that they understood the thought, effort, and love that was put into the wrapping of the gift. Now that the gift was finally unwrapped, it could now be placed in the hearts of the receivers. Those dreams of salvation, restoration, and redemption were no longer fantasies or wishful thinking, but reality.
The unwrapping of Jesus brought forth revelation. The world can now see Him for who He truly is. Praise God for the glorious resurrecting power that is still unwrapping and lifting those bound by sin today!
– Brandon Carag
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