Have you ever struggled to find the right gift for someone? Or realized that the gift you picked out was really more about you than them? (Or maybe you’ve been on the receiving end of a present like that!) This is exactly what Hiromi, the eponymous Ice Guy, is up against in the Christmas episode of the gentle office romance, The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague, as he seeks out the perfect gift to convey his affection for his reserved colleague, Fuyutsuki. It seems like he’s pretty new to this kind of thing, and he has to go through a bit of a learning curve, which speaks well of his humble character. But that’s not all; Hiromi’s struggles to find the perfect gift also highlight some of the specific ways in which the greatest gift of all—offered to the world that first Christmas so long ago—is likewise perfect, for you, for me, and for all the world. Let’s go gift shopping with Hiromi and see what we can learn!
The episode opens one evening after work, as Hiromi roams the seasonally decorated streets of the shopping district. He’s browsing through the windows of a jewelry store when a pair of sparkly, icicle-snowflake earrings catches his eye. Recalling that Fuyutsuki wears accessories, Hiromi pops in and makes the purchase. Yatta! Success! Now he just needs to find the right time to present his gift. (Pun absolutely intended!)
Good fortune is on his side when Komori-san insists that Hiromi, as an experienced skier, join her, Fuyutsuki, and Saejima-san for an overnight ski trip, volunteering him to teach first timer Fuyutsuki how to glide safely down the snowy peaks. It’s the perfect opportunity! So off they go, heading for the hills on Christmas Day.
Several tumbles, blushes, and scrumptious meals later, Hiromi and Fuyutsuki are admiring the ski resort’s illuminated Christmas tree when the bashful Ice Guy pulls out a somewhat largish gift bag. Wait a second, is that a different bag? Isn’t it a bit too big for a pair of earrings?! In the bag is a completely different gift: In place of the bejewelled accessories, lies a fluffy blanket decorated in a cat pattern. “Because I’m always causing blizzards at the office…” he trails off.
You see, after leaving the jewelry store the other evening, chuffed with his purchase, Hiromi overheard a couple of women discussing how unpleasant it was to be given accessories they didn’t want by a man they weren’t even dating. “So pushy!” they complained. Aghast, mild-mannered Hiromi returned his purchase.
Here’s the thing: The first gift was more about Hiromi’s desire to convey his affection than anything else. It was flashy, pricy, and, in a subtle yet tangible way, it made a claim on Fuyutsuki, “marking” her with the snowflakes and icicles that constantly swirl and form around him, as a descendant of the Snow Woman of yore. The earrings were also much larger and more dangly than the style that Fuyutsuki favors. In short, the first gift—although a generous gesture—was more about Hiromi than Fuyutsuki.
But the second gift—oh! That second gift!—it is perfect, or rather, purrfect! It is such a personal gift; it could only have been given from Hiromi to Fuyutsuki, and not shared between any other pair of characters in the show, for two reasons. First off, in giving his love interest a cozy blanket, Hiromi was righting a wrong. His chilly condition as heir to the Snow Woman’s icy legacy means that he often makes the office cool, leaving Fuyutsuki vulnerable to the discomfort of cold feet and stiff hands at the very least, and maybe even to catching a cold. The blanket protects her from that ill wind, overcoming the barrier that the chill of winter would otherwise place between them.
Second, the cat pattern on the blanket is not only perfectly suited to Fuyutsuki, making it a very personal gift for the woman who adores all things feline, from the classic children’s cartoon about George the Kitten, to her own precious cat, Nyamero; but it’s also a bridge between them, since this affection for cats and for Nyamero in particular is something they actually share and have bonded over. The cat pattern makes this a very personal gift, both for the giver and the receiver, as well as a way forward in developing their relationship.
Together, these two facets of the gift—restitution and intimacy—are a celebration of their relationship as it stands, and also an invitation into deeper relationship. And Fuyutsuki absolutely gets the message! (As she makes clear—for her—on the bus ride home.) Bless her little cotton socks.
God’s gift to the world that day so long ago, of his Son and thus himself, is like Hiromi’s second gift. First, it rights a wrong—but unlike with Hiromi, it’s not a wrong that was instigated by the giver, God, but rather by us, the recipients, which makes it all the more generous! God’s gift overcomes the barrier of sin and death that lies between us and our Creator, protecting us and restoring the way for us to have a relationship with him. Second, it’s a gift that is both perfectly suited to us, individually and collectively, and also connects us—with God and one another. The gift of God’s Son is the very embodiment of “personal”—it is a Person who offers to partner with us in life, inviting us into family with one another and the Father!
But get this, there’s more! The perfection of God’s gift is only evident to us now because there were other gifts that God gave first that weren’t, a little like Hiromi with his first gift. Let me explain.
God had a very, very rich history of giving gifts to people long before Bethlehem. From the very beginning of time, God was giving us gifts! For instance, he bequeathed the authority to rule over creation to Adam and Eve, granted his personal blessings for provision, status, and legacy to many others, including Job, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Jacob, Saul, David, and even the entire people of Israel, granting them food, water, supernatural guidance, health, and even clothing and shoes that did not wear out while they followed him to the Promised Land. In the days of the temple construction in Jerusalem, he even placed his own Holy Spirit in a couple of artisans, Oholiab and Bezalel, to unlock their creativity and skill in crafting decoration and furniture. God gave, and gave, and gave. And the gifts were very, very good! They were what his people needed, not just to survive, but to thrive.
And yet, they were not enough. Somehow, these gifts just didn’t “stick,” as humanity showed a strong tendency to abandon and forget all about them—and him. These gifts could not right the wrong between us and God, despite how incredibly generous, loving, and objectively well-suited they were for us, enabling us to live well. More often than not, we remained the same, grumbly, rebellious people even after receiving these gifts. That’s pretty much the story of the Old Testament!
Unlike Hiromi, though, God wasn’t making a mistake in giving all these “first” gifts. Instead, God gave them, yes, because he is generous, but also to show us that those kinds of gifts—material provision, favor, even power itself; all the equivalents of flashy jewelry—were not what we truly needed, deep down in our inner beings, even though they were often what we asked for. Instead, what we needed, what we longed for, was relationship with our God and connection with the One who created us; to know and be known—the gift of God himself! We didn’t really recognize this, though, so all those first gifts and the way that they failed to satisfy demonstrated to humanity the true nature of what we lacked. And then God filled that need, too, with his Son, the bearer of the New Covenant and the Way to life with God.
Hiromi is reaching out to Fuyutsuki in this Christmas episode. He’s reaching out to her where she is, showing her that he sees her, that he already shares so much with her, and that he will cover any and all wrongs between them. He’s inviting her into a deeper relationship.
God is doing the same for each one of us, too, this Christmas, and always.
So if the gift of God, his incarnation in the human world, is feeling a bit distant, theoretical, or like a Christian platitude that gets trotted out and displayed every December but doesn’t reach the heart, don’t worry—there’s something we can do! Let’s ask God together to make it personal. May he give each one of us eyes like Fuyutsuki’s, to see the meaning and the invitation behind the gift he’s giving us this Christmas!
Merry Christmas, friends!
