John 1:16
I think American expats have all experienced some strange Christmas sights in Asia. Purple lights on glittery pink pine trees. Santa Claus in the sweltering Summer heat.
For many Asian companies (like American companies), Christmas is just an opportunity to make more money. So, malls put on lavish holiday displays. In fact, the Airport Mall here in Chiang Mai has a three-story tree complete with strobe lights that dizzy you as you meander past.
The trappings of Christmas are all throughout Asia, but in many cases, the meaning never arrived. Joann Pittman from Chinasource recently wrote about one of her Holiday experiences in China. A few years ago, she was doing some last-minute holiday shopping in a Beijing department store on Christmas Eve. “Joy to the World” was playing over the store speakers as she overheard one man say to another: “I don’t even know what Christmas is. All I know is that if I don’t buy my wife a present, she’ll be angry with me.”
Thankfully, John 1:16 tells us exactly what Christmas is and what it means for us all. “Out of Jesus’ fullness, we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” Other translations say, “we have all received grace upon grace.”
Grace upon grace. When I was first invited to dine with some Asian friends several years ago, I would eat everything placed in front of me like a good missionary; and, like a good Midwestern boy, I would clean off my plate…which took a lot of work since my friends insisted on covering every square centimeter of it with stir-fried goodies. Then, as soon as my plate was empty, they would eagerly fill it up again, like I was a starving child or the Emperor himself. I would happily eat everything, down to the last grain of rice…only to have them fill up my plate yet again. And again. And again. Pretty soon it had turned into an embarrassing episode of “Man versus Food.” Ironically, the more that I insisted I had eaten enough, the more they wanted to fill my plate.
Finally, after being painfully stuffed one too many times, an experienced friend told me, “If you want them to stop adding more food, you have to leave some uneaten. As long as you empty the plate, they are going to fill it.”
That’s “grace in place of grace already given!”
By nature, we all come to God’s table spiritually famished (sometimes more aware of it than at other time). After days, weeks, or months of dumpster diving in the darkness for a sense of security, satisfaction, or identity in something other than the Creator, our souls are growling for spiritual sustenance.
Then, as we gather in God’s name, we feast on his faithful promises; we consume the nutritious body and blood of Christ in bread and wine; we delight in the lavish, free banquet that God offers us in Jesus. We leave spiritually satisfied, uttering sighs of contentment. God is so good to his guests!
Unfortunately, we soon return to the garbage bins looking for greasy spiritual potato chips. Once again, with aching, empty bellies, we stumble back to God’s table, willing to settle for any scraps left behind from the previous feast…only to find the plate filled again with God’s endless gourmet of grace.