Maybe it's because one of my personal "love languages" is gifts, but I find that scenario a little hard to take. I love gifts. I love shopping for them, I love giving them, and yes, I love receiving them. I especially love being surprised, and I love thinking of the giver whenever I see, use, or remember the gift. And I really love it when the recipient of my gift is as excited to receive it as I was to give it. It doesn't have to be something big or expensive. It could even be a gift of time. In fact most often much joy comes from the little things in life that tie us to relationships on a daily basis. A gift doesn't have to be expensive to be priceless. In my humanness, I also admit I love thank you's...both giving them and receiving them. That's how I feel about gifts.
I'm reminded of the best gift of all, the gift of eternal life. And the daily blessings that come from the Lord of that life. Humm...have I showed my appreciation and given Him thanks lately? Because Jesus lived the life I could never live and died in my place, and because I accepted this unfathomable gift, the abundance of His blessings will never cease. The gift is really called grace.
I saw a great quote recently: "God's gift to you was life; what you do with your life is your gift to God" (Manuel Diotte).
That reminds me of a children's liturgy that a Sunday School teacher taught my boys when they could barely sit on a little chair:
teacher: "What does the cross mean?" (while pointing to a cross)
children: "God loves us!"
teacher: "And what do the flowers mean?" (while children bring flowers to the altar)
children: "We love God!"
teacher: "And He is here today, He hears each word we say, and listens when we pray."
(followed by a recitation of the Lord's Prayer) A gift is given and a grateful heart receives it and responds.
I love the way John puts it in his gospel (1:16) "From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." I can't help but wonder how the heart of God feels when He has given so much, in fact His all, to bestow the gift of eternal blessing for those He loves so much, and yet so many ignore, disregard, or reject it. There is no way I could be given a beautifully wrapped gift and sit it in the corner and not open it! Luke tells us there is great rejoicing in heaven over even one sinner who repents (15:7) and embraces God's gift.
I'm counting my blessings today; won't you join me?
"...how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?..." (Heb. 2:3)
4 comments:
Jacquelyn, I enjoyed reading this. In the last few days I have wondered how people can reject the gift as well and you have given voice to some of my thoughts. Something that in the last days really needs to be asked. "God has given you a wonderful gift, now what will you do with it?"
Hi Rose...thanks for commenting. I don't know about you, but I wish I'd paid more attention to "what will I do with it?" years ago...it seems the older I get, the more important it becomes to me to make each day count. And speaking of gifts, I'd really like to send you one of my dad's cards that he had made from his paintings. If you are comfortable doing so, send me your snail mail address to my email. I want you to see what you can do with your paintings! My dad never started painting till he retired, and he enjoyed that hobby for 24 years.
Absolutely beautiful post Jacquelyn.
What a loving God. Words can not express what a priceless Gift He's given to all who will just receive.
Thank you for causing us all to stop and reflect on God's grace. And for challenging us to remember that there are those who don't even know God has this gift for them. My heart has been prompted to share His love and His gift with others more often!
God bless you my sister.
Good morning, Deb. Thank you. There are just so many things in our everyday lives that parallel (but can't compare of course) the relationship of God our Father with us His children, aren't there? He has such a wonderful masterplan! Most people hate being ignored for example. But then we turn around and do that to God. Humm, maybe that would be a good way to open up a conversation with a non-believer. "How would you feel if someone you really loved constantly ignored you?...well, that's exactly how we treat God when we ignore all that He has given for us " (Heb 2:3) Thanks for challenging me as well, and have a great holiday weekend!
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