CLEOEJACKSONIII.COM
  • My Home Page
  • My Life and Ministry
  • My Ongoing Thoughts
  • My Favorite Bible Verses
  • My Favorite Stories
  • My Favorite Jokes
  • My Favorite Quotations
  • My Favorite Web Links
  • My Contact Info
"Helping Others Communicate"

DUMBSTRUCK!

12/20/2018

 
An old legend comes down to us about a wise and good king who ruled long ago in the ancient Middle East. The king loved his people. He wanted to know all about them – about how they lived, about their struggles, and about all their hardships.

Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left.

Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!" The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't. Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"

This ancient folktale reminds us what the current season is all about. For it was at the very first Christmas that the King of Glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to us.  And in the process, He gave us the greatest gift that could ever be given – He gave Himself to you and me.

In in his Second New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 9, verse 15) the Apostle Paul discusses Christ’s coming into this world.  As he does, he calls Jesus Christ God’s "unspeakable gift" to us.  The Koine (or common) Greek word Paul uses here in the original language of the New Testament is "anekdiḗgētos", meaning "not able to be fully declared". 

It occurs nowhere else and is used of no other person or event in the entire Bible!  That is to say that God’s gift to us in Christ is so unique as to be beyond all words!  God’s magnanimous gift of Himself to at Christmas is so astounding as to leave us speechless! 

Like the shepherds of old, we find that we stand in awe!  Like Peter tells us in his First New Testament Letter (chapter 1, verse 8), we find ourselves full of "unspeakable joy"!  And like Zechariah in the face of the angel’s announcement in Luke’s New Testament Gospel (chapter 1:5-25), we are completely dumbstruck as we witness the unfolding of God’s miraculous grace!

And yet, once we recover, we immediately join in with all of these, with Paul himself, and boldly proclaim with joy: "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!"

STORY SOURCE:  Available widely online in various forms.  See, for instance:
http://www.gospelweb.net/Christmas/StoryOfThePersianKing.htm.

BIBLE SOURCES: https://www.biblehub.com/1_peter/1-8.htm;
https://biblehub.com/bsb/luke/1.htm;
https://www.biblehub.com/2_corinthians/9-15.htm;
and
https://biblehub.com/greek/411.htm.

Comments are closed.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All