The Gospel Clarifies Easter (2 of 6)
Series: Gospel Clarity
Bob Ingle
1 Corinthians 15:12-22
(Video of reactions to good and bad gifts) Oh the jubilation of getting the gift of our dreams! And, oh the depression of getting yet another crocheted sweater vest from Grandma. (Or a book for some little boys!)
Have you ever been to a White Elephant Christmas Party? They're a ton of fun. Of course, that's a gift exchange where you expect take home something used, or useless, or unwanted, or ugly, or just downright disgusting, right? Did you know that one year one of our wonderful pastor's put one of his toenails that had fallen off in a box, wrapped it up, and put it in the church staff White Elephant gift exchange? That was long before he was our 'Love' pastor. He assures me he's matured a lot since then.
I got curious about why they call this kind of gift a white elephant. Have you ever checked that out? Now, a white elephant is more of a gag gift. But that's not how it started. It's based on the legend of the King of Siam who targeted fellow aristocrats that he secretly hated and he wanted to hurt, but couldn't do it openly. So he devised a plan where he would gift them rare albino elephants. He knew they wouldn't refuse the gift because it would be considered an insult and they would be shamed, but he also knew that they couldn't afford the upkeep of the gift so it would ruin them financially. So originally a white elephant gift was not only a gift you didn't want, but it was also something that did you harm.
Christmas, of course, is the celebration of the birth of God's greatest gift to man, His Son Jesus Christ. But did you know that if Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death for our sins, but didn't physically come out of the grave, the greatest gift God gave us would actually be a White Elephant gift? It wouldn't help us but harm us. Why? Because the gift of our salvation includes eternal life, not just forgive ...
Series: Gospel Clarity
Bob Ingle
1 Corinthians 15:12-22
(Video of reactions to good and bad gifts) Oh the jubilation of getting the gift of our dreams! And, oh the depression of getting yet another crocheted sweater vest from Grandma. (Or a book for some little boys!)
Have you ever been to a White Elephant Christmas Party? They're a ton of fun. Of course, that's a gift exchange where you expect take home something used, or useless, or unwanted, or ugly, or just downright disgusting, right? Did you know that one year one of our wonderful pastor's put one of his toenails that had fallen off in a box, wrapped it up, and put it in the church staff White Elephant gift exchange? That was long before he was our 'Love' pastor. He assures me he's matured a lot since then.
I got curious about why they call this kind of gift a white elephant. Have you ever checked that out? Now, a white elephant is more of a gag gift. But that's not how it started. It's based on the legend of the King of Siam who targeted fellow aristocrats that he secretly hated and he wanted to hurt, but couldn't do it openly. So he devised a plan where he would gift them rare albino elephants. He knew they wouldn't refuse the gift because it would be considered an insult and they would be shamed, but he also knew that they couldn't afford the upkeep of the gift so it would ruin them financially. So originally a white elephant gift was not only a gift you didn't want, but it was also something that did you harm.
Christmas, of course, is the celebration of the birth of God's greatest gift to man, His Son Jesus Christ. But did you know that if Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death for our sins, but didn't physically come out of the grave, the greatest gift God gave us would actually be a White Elephant gift? It wouldn't help us but harm us. Why? Because the gift of our salvation includes eternal life, not just forgive ...
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