(Jesus) took the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:7

Being brought up in India as a missionary kid, there were many things that were not readily available in the local stores and marketplace.  Missionaries used to back many 50-gallon barrels full of things that would be needed for the next 4 years. One of the “things” that was actually a necessity but that made Christmas just a little bit nicer, was wrapping paper.  It was so nice waking up Christmas morning, going out into the living room and seeing gifts of all different shapes and sizes beautifully wrapped with pretty paper.  As we would gather around the tree and the time to open gifts arrived, my Mom would inevitably say, “Be careful.  Save the paper. We can use it next year.”  The gifts were always great, but everybody appreciated the wrapping.  Presentation is part of the beauty of the gift.

This reminds us of the wrapping the Father chose for His Son when He came as a redemptive gift to rescue us from our sinful selves.  Jesus could have been wrapped in a mind-boggling show of power and majesty, lighting up the sky with His presence with a celestial light-show of God’s glory.  Instead, just the opposite happened. Unlike the brilliance and majesty and brightness of God’s glory that was seen on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Father wrapped Jesus in a very plain wrapping of human form, arriving “in the very nature of a servant.”

So why is this wrapping so important? Because presentation is part of the beauty of the gift. Jesus, being like us, is no stranger to our struggles.  He experienced deep loneliness and even the betrayal of a close friend. He was severely tempted in every way that we are, He was publicly shamed, misunderstood, and falsely accused.  In short…He feels our pain.  He understands what we go through.  As a result, the writer of Hebrews tells us that, for that very reason, we canapproach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)

When we think of the gift of Jesus this Christmas, let’s keep the “wrapping” in mind.