It's the one last Christmas gift he invites her to open.  It’s a small box.  Inside, a key.  It goes with the (CUE THE MUSIC) Lexus sitting in their driveway.  The one with the massive red bow on top.   She gives him a look, then a kiss (MUSIC SWELLS), and they roar off down the road happily ever after as the voice-over invites us to get in on the gift giving. 

Who DOES this?

Am I the only one watching these commercials wondering, “Who DOES this?!   Who gives their wife or husband a Lexus or Lincoln MKZ as a Christmas gift?

Answer: Enough to justify the ad campaign.

Not Sweating the Price

According to car buying site Edmunds.com, in seven of the last twelve years, more luxury cars were sold in December than any other month.  Better deals come after Christmas, but if you're thinking your sweetheart needs keys to a new Mercedes under the tree, you're probably not sweating out the price.

To my scale of thought—and income--this is outrageous.  Over the top.  Extreme.

Yet...maybe it's a better metaphor for Christmas than I've given it credit.

How else can we describe the (indescribable) gift of Jesus at Christmas.  King of the Universe.  Owner of it all.  Inventor of water.  And babies.  And kisses. 

Outrageous!

Jesus, the wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father and Prince of peace is our gift.  And He came with the idea of giving one inexplicable gift—His own life…in exchange for ours.

Outrageous!  Extreme.  Over the top!  Makes even the most expensive Ferrari look like rusty trash by comparison.

However, the gift of salvation Jesus offers bears a striking resemblance to the car keys given in the TV commercials.  Unless you grab them and unlock the door, it's not much of a gift.

Have you opened the door of your heart to the gift of Jesus?

It was just a small pine bough there on the sidewalk.  But I was obliged to pick it up and take it to my office. 

I have always loved the smell, the look—even the feel of pine trees.  It must go back to my childhood at Christmastime. To this day, the smell of a pine tree brings back so many happy memories, and whenever I pass by a Christmas tree lot, I like to stand there and just sniff the air.

My favorite restaurant in the entire world is called White Pines and at home you’ll find a soap bar my wife gave me, whose fragrance is pine.  

Smelling Scrumptious

Every December, I walk by Chicago office buildings festooned with pine branches. Often, I stop and inhale the beauty.  But a recent walk in the rain confirmed a theory I have long held. It was drizzling and the smell of cut pine boughs wired to a fence was scrumptious.   Somehow, rain brings out the pine smell.  I don't know why.  I don't know how. I only know that it does.

Rain on Your Party

This Christmas, our hopes are high for family gatherings without strain, shopping without stress (and other highly unrealistic wishes).   The truth is it's probably going to rain on your party.  Not pretty fluffy snow.  Ugly rain.  Cold and yucky wetness.

Fragrance in You?

And it may all seem a bit disappointing.  But if you know Jesus, the unwanted rain can actually bring out His fragrance in you.  As 2 Corinthians 2:15 puts it, “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”

When others see the real Jesus lived out in real problems, it makes for a remarkable fragrance in an otherwise stinky world.   I don't know exactly why.  Or how.  I only know that it does.

This Christmas...

• Plan on some rain. 
• Stay close to Jesus. 
• Enjoy the fragrance!

Confession.  I keep some contact names in my Outlook address book even after they have passed away.  A former boss.   A friend.  I just can’t bring myself to delete their names.  For example, there’s this guy I met in the pulpit of a church in Romania.

It was one of the first times I ever preached in Ploiesti, the oil producing town an hour north of Bucharest. Stefan (not his real name) stood next to me and translated the message with remarkable ease—despite my rookie ways. 

He Never Complained

Stefan was not a large man, but he had a huge heart.  His intelligence extended beyond linguistics into technology.  He had a responsible job, a beautiful wife, a baby boy, and it was a pleasure to get to know him. Every year when I visited Ploesti, Stefan would faithfully translate my sermon, never complaining when my sentences were too long. 

You can understand how I began to look forward to being with him—if only for a short time in his church.  We emailed some throughout the year between visits.

Impossible News

Then came the Sunday we headed off to church and I was informed Stefan would not be translating for me—ever.  A car accident.  You can imagine my shock.

This past November—more than ten years after the accident—I spoke in that same church.  There in the front row was this man’s widow, and seated next to her, the little boy that was now a young teenager. 

We met afterwards and I could not resist reminding the boy of what a great father he had.  Of how intelligent he was and—better than that—how humble he was.  The boy seemed to nod his head without much emotion.  Too young to remember. 

Their Deeds Follow Them

But not me.  I remember him.  And his wife remembers him.  And many others whose lives he touched remember  him, too.   That’s the way it is with those in die in Christ, for as John writes in Revelation 14:13, “their deeds follow them!”  

I cannot bring myself to hit the delete key on this man’s contact page.

Now you know why. 

They came from entirely dissimilar cultures.

They gathered from opposite sides of the ocean.

They spoke languages different from each other.

Yet they sat down and enjoyed each other’s company, getting to know each other over a Thanksgiving dinner together.

Something More Current

You are perhaps envisioning the Massachusetts meal we know today as the first Thanksgiving. Yet I have in mind something much more current.

I'm thinking of a series of “Thanksgiving meals” we shared days ago in Sofia, Bulgaria at Moody Radio’s Global Partners Training.  More than a hundred Christian media professionals gathered from nearly a dozen nations: Romania, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Austria, Kenya, Germany, India--and Bulgaria.

All Those Languages, But...

Imagine the diverse mix of languages and cultures. Yet we shared one profound common bond—a love for Jesus the Christ. Consider the difference that made on a practical level.

Without knowing a thing about the people we ate with, we knew enough that we could relax and enjoy them.  Without knowing a word of their language, we communicated powerfully around the person of Jesus. Without any understanding of cultural nuances, we connected deeply.

And it didn’t happen just once.  Or twice. It happened all week long!  In that sense, every meal was a Thanksgiving meal. 

Still Another Proof

For me, this is an unexpected apologetic for the Christian faith.  I have been privileged to travel to some 35 countries.  Wherever there are Christ followers, they always take care of you.  You’re family—even if you’ve never met.  This sense of family is not mere sentiment or projected religiosity.  It is a bond I have witnessed in some intense situations. 

So if you know Jesus, it means two things at this unusual holiday:

• First, you can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal anywhere on the planet—and be with family. Really!
• Second, the ultimate reason for our thanks is Jesus—who MAKES us one family. 

Interesting Windows

They say that the eyes are the window to the soul.  If that’s true, there are some mighty interesting windows out there in God's animal kingdom.  Take, for example, the giant squid. 

Most animals’ eyes are smaller than oranges.  But—try to picture this--a giant squid's eye is larger than your head!

Goat’s eyes are not nearly as large, of course.  But they do have a unique feature.  Their pupils are rectangular shaped.  This means they can see a panoramic view of 320-340 degrees—and can almost see behind themselves. 

Seeing Behind You

Seeing a lot is one thing.  But seeing it well is another.  Consider the Mantis shrimp.  At one foot long, it is said to have better eyesight than any other animal.  Quite a claim!

But for something that comes close to a death stare, check out the Stargazer.  This interesting fish slyly buries itself in the ocean sand.  When a fish of prey swims by, the Stargazer fish shoots 50 volts of electricity from its eyes to stun the prey.  

A bit less dramatic is the common reindeer.  With the coming of winter’s longer days, the reindeer's eyes—typically a shade of gold—change to blue.  Next time you see Rudolph on the TV special, see if the animation artists were accurate.

Creep-Me-Out

For sheer creepiness, it's tough to be beat the vision of a scallop.  It has—get this—100 eyes around its shell.

No slouch in the creep-me-out department is the Ogre-faced spider.  It has not one pair of eyes...but four.  That's right...eight individual spider eyeballs!  That makes it the best seeing spider in the world. 

God seems to place a premium on eyesight—literal and spiritual.  Check out 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him....”

What does God see when He sees you?