From: Ben Kelley
Sunject: Good gifts?
Most of us like to receive
gifts. Just knowing that someone thinks enough of us to spend time,
effort, and expense into getting something for us tends to lift us
up. This is especially true if the
gift shows the giver put time, thought, effort, etc, into picking out and
procuring just the right present. Such care and concern makes us feel
loved and appreciated. On the other hand, those gifts that are
obviously: "recycled", out of date sale items, or, other types that show
the giver gave them begrudgingly or uncaringly, with little or no effort, leave us feeling
flat. We think, "Gee, he/she must not think much about me. I
don't care about what they spent, at least he/she could have put a
little thought into what might be useful, needed, or
wanted."
Have you ever considered the
gifts your Heavenly Father has given you, and what they show about His feelings
and attitude toward you, of how much HE cares for you?
(1) Consider the gift of
salvation. We, as believers, have become so accustomed to
the idea of possessing salvation that it's now treated like the presents we
found under the Christmas tree 5-6 years ago, i.e.., we loved it when it was
new, but now we're not even sure what it looked like. If you were to
search all of creation for a gift that you needed, liked, and could use more
than this, you would never find it. This one even gets better and better,
as all the "shiny" things in our life start to wear out and fade
away. It, unlike most gifts, does not present you with its best at
first. This one gives you its best later. Your Father paid more
for this gift than you can ever comprehend. No greater price
exists. No one else is rich enough to have purchased it for
you.
(2) Consider the gift of
forgiveness. You may, at first, consider this to be the
same as salvation, but it's not. God could have saved us from the
consequences of sin, but still held them against us. We often do this
with people. We, in effect, "forgive the debt, but not the debtor."
God, though, looked at us, covered and filled with sin, things that were
abhorrent to Him as the Pure and Holy God, being literal enemies aligned against
Him (according to His Word), and brought John 3:16 into existence-
"For God so loved the world, that He
Gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He
ForGave. Without forgiveness, we could
escape Hell, but not gain Heaven. He did not have to
give it to us. He chose it for each of us,
individually.
(3) Consider the gift of
joy. When times are trying, and others around us are
sinking in despair, He will give us the indescribable gift of joy. When
the darkness of the world shrouds everything around us and the weight of
its burdens threaten to squeeze our very breath away, what a difference it makes
when the light of God's promises shines through, dispelling the darkness and
lifting the burden, bringing the joy of the Lord to be our
strength. He will carry us through. The old song says
"I've
got the joy, joy, joy joy, down in my heart,
down in my heart, down in my heart.
I've got the joy, joy, joy joy, down in my heart, down in my
heart to stay."
Who picked the gift of joy, and
gives it to you just when you need it most? Your Heavenly Father
does. He loves you.
I'm not going to mention
numerous other gifts we, as believers, could consider now, such as grace, mercy, peace,
etc. I hope you might choose to spend a little time on those,
yourself. I do, though, want to bring one other "gift idea" to your
attention. The Bible teaches us that God has given to
every believer "SPIRITUAL GIFTS." You may or may not know
what your spiritual gift(s) is (are), but
you need to find out. Those gifts have
been hand picked for you by God. HE is a good giver. HE looked at what
you would need to accomplish the purpose He has for you in this life. HE
has chosen what would make your life complete and fulfilled as it is manifested
in you. Unwrap those gifts and learn to use them. The more you use
them, the more you will enjoy them. You won't wear them out and you can't
break them. When you consider your particular spiritual gift(s), don't let
the enemy of your soul con you into thinking you got short-changed. Do not
make the mistake of wishing you had other gifts. God did specifically
choose your gift(s) before bestowing it (them) upon you, He gave you the
perfect one(s), tailor-made for you. Give those gifts some thought. Thank Him for it (them), get them out
of the closet, and put them to use. God only gives good
gifts! (A very basic study of spiritual gifts can be done through
Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. This is not at all
exhaustive, but can be a good start)
Ben