HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2013 / WINTER / THE LIFE EXAMINED WITH CAROLYN MACOMBER
W I N T E R • 2 0 1 3
VOLUME 14, ISSUE 4
D E P A R T M E N T S
The life EXAMINED with Carolyn Macomber
THE TREASURES OF UN-WRAPPABLE
GIFTS
“Un-wrappable gifts are my favorite,” said an older woman who lovingly calls me her adopted daughter. We were sitting in a restaurant sharing coffee and brunch together, and I asked her to explain the phrase she had just used.
“Un-wrappable gifts are the things that you can’t wrap or buy; they can be an experience shared together, an encouraging word, or help given by someone. I’ve gotten to the age when things break and eventually are thrown away—but un-wrappable gifts can never be broken or thrown away.” What profound thoughts she expressed in simple words. What she didn’t realize was that she had just given me an un-wrappable gift. She was leaving a legacy—this woman who had already raised her own children was now investing her time in me that morning.
What un-wrappable gift will you be giving this Christmas season? What legacy will you leave behind you in the form of a gift that can never break or be thrown away?
Some un-wrappable gifts
Recently, I received a few un-wrappable gifts. A work-related rejection had left me feeling very alone and vulnerable. I described the situation with a dear friend. She encouraged me personally and then encouraged me in the Lord. “You are dearly loved, and God’s direction of your life…is not an accident. He is healing you.… You are not fatally flawed. You are not shameful. You are God’s beloved daughter, and you are a joint heir with Jesus.” Those words were an un-wrappable gift that reminded me to Whom I belong and Whose child I am.
Another gift encouraged me recently. I struck up a conversation with someone at a presentation. She saw me several days later and said, “I told my boss that the best part of my presentation was that I had made a new friend.” She was referring to me. They were simple words—but I felt valued and appreciated.
One of my former students saw me in church recently. She is being discipled by an amazing woman of God. In an excited voice the girl told me about receiving Christ at a youth camp in October. “I am different,” she said holding up her Bible. She told me that she thought she should get a new Bible, but she didn’t want to give up this old one which was worn, dirty, and marked by her notes. As she told me of her love for her Bible, she didn’t realize she was giving me an “un-wrappable” gift. I had given her that Bible. In fact, when I had given my students their individually-chosen Bibles, I wondered if they would ever read them. Now this girl was holding up that well-worn Bible I had given her, and she was sharing her new joy in Christ. Knowing she had received Christ as her Savior and seeing that worn Bible in her hands brought tears to my eyes.
The best gift
The greatest un-wrappable gift that I have ever received came in the form of a baby swathed in rags nearly 2,000 years ago. The child was born in poverty and His life was filled with rejection, but He changed me forever. He submitted Himself to a grisly death that purchased my life. He is the best un-wrappable gift I have ever received.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16; NIV)
I, too, can say with my student, “I am different”, because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Jesus is the best un-wrappable gift I have ever received. He will never break and can never be thrown away. He will never leave me or forsake me. He has given me life by His death.
Have you received this amazing un-wrappable gift? †
Copyright 2014 Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., Camp Verde, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved. Revised April 28, 2014. Contact email: proclamation@gmail.com
Carolyn Macomber was a doctoral student at Andrews University when she discovered inconsistencies between Adventism and the Bible. She withdrew her membership from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 2009. She is a member of The Chapel Evangelical Free Church in St. Joseph, Michigan, where she is the leader of a Former Adventist Fellowship. She works helping families prepare their children for school readiness.
