The Unspeakable Gift

“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15

“Thank you.” Two small words that mean so much, and hopefully you hear them often. Sometimes it’s a casual “thanks,” and sometimes it’s a very heartfelt expression of deep gratitude. No matter which, saying “thank you” is one way we express our appreciation to others.

Thanking God is important also, and it should be a part of everyone’s prayer life. We can thank God for His blessings toward us, for answered prayer, and for simply loving us. We can thank Him for many other things, but we should especially thank God for His “unspeakable gift.” The gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

To get a small idea of why this gift from God is so “unspeakable,” consider this. God and Jesus had never been apart from one another until the cross. When Jesus took all the sins of the world upon Himself, the unthinkable happened. The Father and the Son were separated. In that most agonizing moment, God the Father turned away from His only begotten Son, Jesus. It had never happened before in all eternity past, and it will never happen again, but it happened then. And it was the most unbearable and heart-wrenching moment for both the Father and the Son. The anguish was so great that it caused Jesus to cry out from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

I cannot even begin to understand what God and Jesus went through at that moment. I only know that my sin contributed to that situation. Maybe that’s why God hates sin so much. Maybe it was because His own heart was also ripped out and broken at Calvary due to sin. But even though God knew what it would cost, He still sent His Son to earth to become our Saviour. There are no words to describe the enormity of the love that God has for us. Like His gift, His love is also “unspeakable.”

For the greatest of treasures wasn’t offered up by men
But a gift from the heavens that only God could send
Of all the things He could give, God chose just one
It was the greatest of treasures when the Father gave the world His Son.

(from “The Greatest of Treasures” by Dave Clark and Russell Mauldin)

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

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This Christmas season take time to thank God for His truly unspeakable gift!