Jn 4:10 Jesus
answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that
saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would
have given thee living water.
The time of lavish gift-giving is upon us. Our love
is demonstrated as we sacrifice to give to those who mean the most to us.
We notice in John 3:16 that God SO LOVED the world,
that He gave His unique and precious Son that we might have everlasting life.
How much did He love us? SO much that He gave us Jesus.
Can I be open and honest? We spent a lot of money
for our kids on just a very few gifts. When they get mean and ornery, I ask
myself, “Do they deserve what we have done for them?” Well, no more than I
deserve the Gift of Jesus Christ and the eternal life that He purchased for me
on the Cross. It is not about being deserving of a gift, it is about being
loved by the Giver. If it was a matter of deserving, then it would cease to truly
be a gift.
Giving gifts is a matter of grace, the bestowing of
that which is undeserved.
Tomorrow, knowing history and the way they do
things, I suspect my church will call me to the platform after the morning
service and the deacon will present me with some lavish gift. My thought will
be, “I am an unprofitable servant. I have done that which was my duty to do (barely).”
But, I will humbly accept their gift of
love and try not to frit it away, but to use it in a worthy manner.
Our Lord was the very first of the lavish Christmas
gift Givers, when He wrapped His Son in human flesh and sent Him to the tree of
Calvary. I am so totally undeserving, for I often get mean and ornery, as well
as disobedient. But I am so very appreciative of that unspeakable Gift. I don’t
wish to frit it away but appropriate my Gift in a worthy manner.
“The only gift is a
portion of thyself.” R.W. Emerson.
Thank you, Lord, for your wonderful, sacrificial,
lavish Gift given that very first Christmas, the Gift that keeps on giving.
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