WHAT IS THIS GIFT?

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
(Titus 3: 4-7)

When I sat down to think about today's passage, my mind went skipping back over things from other days: the grace to receive God's grace; the bigger picture of God's purpose; the assurance that we will be drawn into Christ's kingdom. All wonderful threads woven together into one fabric. It is the action of the Holy Spirit that draws these things together and fits them into the flow of our own lives. Certainly for me, as I look back over the last three and a half weeks, I marvel at the journey the Lord as taken me upon, and how He has fit my own life into the course of the Advent verse selections.

So I come to this inclined to pay close attention to the words at hand.

"Kindness." The kindness of God our Savior extended to us. I am suddenly reminded not of God's majesty and power, but of His kindness. The soft, stroking touch of affection. The warmth of sunshine on skin. The fresh soothing of cool water to a thirsty throat. The kindness of God.

And "His love for mankind appeared." That's the heart of Christmas, isn't it? That God came among us as a baby, a baby that grew into a man. That man walked among us, taught us, touched us.

"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds ... but according to His mercy." It wasn't anything we did or have done that brought God's kindness to us, but His own sense of mercy. He extends his love and kindness to us not just because He loves us and thus wants to give us gifts, but because He knows we need that love and mercy.

So many people we know go through life feeling alone and cut off. There may be people around them, people that care about them, but they can't see it or feel it. They desperately need to feel the touch of God's kindness and mercy. I say "they," but I think we've all had our times of feeling lost and isolated. Even as recently as a few weeks ago, I felt that way. I think the trap for us, though, is that we become so sunk in that feeling of isolation that we mistake it for knowledge of a fact, a fact that says we are indeed isolated.

But a feeling is not knowledge, and it certainly isn't an external fact. This is something that I have happily relearned in these weeks. Which brings me to the next points in the passage.

"The washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." I have received much grace and mercy, conveyed by the hands of friends, but I feel definitely inspired by the love from God. And a consequence of that grace and mercy has been a sense of being refreshed and reinspired. "Regeneration" - a big word for being made anew. Or rather not entirely new, but rather restored to what was "originally generated," to be put back on track with what I was "supposed" to be. And renewing by the Holy Spirit - well, being an artist and writer, inspiration is a precious gift to me. So being renewed in that is a wonderful thing.

This. then, is the gift that God is giving us, not just for this holiday but for every day -- we are the justified receipients simply because God loves us.