I love getting gifts.  Some of my favorite gifts to get are little things that don’t cost very much money but that I rarely buy for myself. A magazine on fashion or decorating, a bottle of new nail polish or a new Starbucks mug from their “You Are Here” series.

But to tell the truth, what I love almost as much as the gift itself is the way it’s packaged.  I love things that are presented beautifully and lovingly. That can mean a simple piece of twine wrapped around a magazine or a cute little chalkboard tag attached to it.  One of my favorite gifts I ever received was packaged in a brown paper sack, threaded at the top with some twine and tied into a tidy little bow. Inside was tea, a bag of fresh cherries & some chocolate.  It was so simple and so thoughtful.

“Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things…”

As Christians, we have the greatest gift ever! We have the truth of who God is.  Unfortunately we sometimes miss the mark with our packaging and our delivery.  I’m not saying that anything needs to be added to the message of the cross.  The truth of who God is and His redemptive work on the cross stands on its own.  It’s not about adding to the gift, it’s about caring enough to make sure the gift is presented in a way that lines up with the value we have placed upon it.  Ensuring the authenticity of our gift speaks to the value we have placed on it.

Sometimes we forget that the way in which we deliver things can be as important as the thing we are trying to deliver. 

When we were in Florida this past spring we bought a Christmas ornament from Magic Kingdom.   We have a tradition where we collect Christmas ornaments from our family vacations.  I loved this ornament and I wanted it to get home in one piece so we took extra safety precautions to make sure that happened.  We wrapped it several times in thick paper, tucked it neatly inside a small box, and then surrounded the box with more padding.  We thought about putting it in our suitcase but then decided we weren’t sure we trusted the airlines to be gentle with it. (So untrusting of us, I know.)  We placed the carefully wrapped package in Aaron’s carry-on so that we could ensure its safe return. We cared enough to put extra time and love into getting it home in one piece.

But what if we had gone through all the trouble of wrapping and packaging only to get home and realize there was nothing in the box?  It sounds ridiculous but that’s what happens when we forego truth, it’s nothing but pretty packaging. It lacks substance.

Jesus was such a great example to us of truth wrapped in love.  He walked this earth showing love to everyone without abandoning the truth.  In dealing with the woman caught in adultery Jesus showed compassion towards her and caused her accusers to leave. LOVE  But then he followed it with these instructions, “Go and sin no more.” TRUTH

Truth & love do their best work when they coexist together.

So why is it that we tend to polarize the two, feeling the need to pick between the side of truth or the side of love? When we choose truth at the expense of love we ostracize people.  When we choose love at the expense of truth we omit God’s word.

Truth and love don’t have to live independent of each other, but so often lately in our culture they do.  We regard them as points on a continuum, truth at one end, love at the other.  They wave to each other from across the distance but never dare to come together for fear that joining forces will somehow chip away at their individual importance.  But that’s not what Jesus modeled for us.  In fact, scripture tells us that our maturity depends on both. 

Ephesians 4:15  “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is Christ.”

“The Bible tells us that truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory and being of God.  Truth is not subjective, it is not a consensual cultural construct, and it is not an invalid outdated, irrelevant concept.  Truth is the self-expression of God.” (Taken from the Truth War, by John MacArthur).

The Holy Spirit guides us into truth.  John 16:13 says, “But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth (full and complete truth).  For He will not speak on his own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears (from the Father-the message regarding the Son), and He will disclose to you what is to come.”

My prayer for all of us, myself included, is that we would learn to embrace both the truth (the full and complete truth) and the love of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. That we wouldn’t be tempted to pick up one without the other.  My prayer is that we would fully embrace the truth and take the time to wrap it up in the love of Jesus Christ as we offer it to each other and to a world in desperate need of Him.