Saturday, November 30, 2019

What Gifts Will You Give Him?

Photo by Sigismund von Dobschütz 2007
During the Christmas season and always, have you considered what gifts you will give your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? What can we possibly give Him that could even come close to showing our appreciation for the greatest Gift ever given – God’s Son given that all who trust Him may have eternal life? (John 3:16)

His story proves that you can’t judge a gift from its wrappings. God the Father’s greatest gift to the world, His only begotten Son, destined to become the perfect sacrifice for all sins, and to return again to rule the universe in glory, was presented in a very humble way. He came as a helpless baby, born into a humble family, delivered in a lowly stable (Luke 2:7).

Just as the Wise Men of Christ’s day sought Him out and aimed to give Him their very best gifts (Matthew 2: 1-12), so do wise men and women of today seek Him and consecrate to Him their lives and the very best gifts they can offer.

You don't have to shop for these gifts, because He is the source of all good things (James 1:17). You won't have to go into debt over them, because you can't outgive God, and the more you give Him, the more blessings will flow back to you (Luke 6:38). They're always exactly what He would want and a perfect fit, as long as you're following His perfect will for your life. And you don't have to worry that they'll be returned -- you can be sure they will, as He gives back to you many times over all that you entrust to Him (1 Kings 17:10-16; John 6:5-13).

God judges our gifts to Him not on their greatness, because there is nothing that He needs from us. Anything we have is pitiful compared with His infinite wealth (Psalm 50: 7-12), and all that we have came from Him in the first place (James 1:17). Instead, He judges our motives, our willingness to trust all to Him, and the sacrificial nature of our gift (Luke 12:48; Luke 21:1-4). 

If He has blessed us with talents, material wealth, or other resources, He requires us to be a channel through whom blessings flow, because to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). But even if others do not consider us blessed in worldly terms, we can please God with our giving. When Jesus saw the poor widow throwing two mites into the treasury (Luke 21:1-4), He praised her more than all the others because she gave all that she had.

The absolute amount or greatness of the gift we give Him is not important, but what matters is how much of what we have we give back to Him. He is pleased with sacrificial giving because it shows our trust in Him, our faith that He will give back to us in abundance.

A sinful woman broke open a costly alabaster box containing precious ointment – possibly her inheritance or dowry -- that she used to anoint His Head. Jesus promised that this lavish gift would always be remembered in Scripture (Mark 14:3-9)

Elijah, prophet of God, followed God’s direction and asked a widow to give him her last morsel of food. When she did so in faith, God provided for her daily (1 Kings 17). God always honors His promises to those who trust Him in faith.

A similar story of God taking a seemingly small gift, multiplying and magnifying it to do great good, then giving back in abundance, is the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes (John 6:5), in which Jesus feeds a crowd of thousands with only a little boy’s lunch that he willingly gave. The disciples use the reasoning of men, not trusting in God’s supernatural ability to provide. 

But God wants us to demonstrate our faith – it is never a question of whether He is able, but of whether we have faith.  No one goes away hungry, and there are 12 baskets full of bread left over, which must have gone to the little boy to feed his family and no doubt his whole village.

In this season of gifts, may we always remember and thank the greatest Giver and Gift of all time. The best gift you could possibly give to anyone on your gift list is to share the Gospel with them! You can give it freely to everyone without taxing your budget; one size fits all; and they’ll never need to return or exchange it. Christ – the perfect Gift -- is truly All that anyone needs!

May we give Him what He has given us – our body, mind and spirit -- as a living sacrifice to His glory! 

© 2012 Laurie Collett (reposted from the archives)


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8 comments:

Frank E. Blasi said...

Dear Laurie,
December is upon us once again, the time for giving and receiving.
There is a story of a man who saw a horse-drawn coach approaching, and halted in front of the man. A king then leaned out of the window.
"Give me what you have" he said.
The man emptied his pocket and handed some coins over. The coach then drove off, pulled by the horses.
The man returned home, only to see a small pile of gold resting on the table.
He then experienced a double emotion: Gladness that he gave something, but also sadness that he did not give more.
I'm so glad that we cannot out-give God. As you say, his gift of his Son is the greatest gift anyone could receive.
An excellent post, God bless.

Laurie Collett said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Laurie Collett said...

Dear Frank,
I love your parable -- thanks for sharing it! It reminds me of how our pastor answered the question: "Should we tithe on our net profit or on our gross income?" He replied, "Well, would you rather be blessed according to your net or according to your gross income?"

One of the regrets we may experience at the Judgment Seat of Christ may well be that we did not give more of our time, talent, and treasure to God, Who more than repays us in this world and the next.

Thanks as always for your insightful comment. God bless,
Laurie

Donald Fishgrab said...

Great post, Laurie.
Ultimately, the only thing we have to give the Lord is our love, and even that comes from him. All the things we give mean nothing without that love, as Paul pointed out in I Corinthians 13.

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Donald! Great point -- we can only love because He loves us, and without that, all is vanity.
God bless,
Laurie

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie,
One of the things the Lord has always pointed out to me in my walk with Him is to not just be a hearer of the Word He speaks to me, but to act upon it, as stated in James ch.1 v.22. So I hope that the greatest gift I would be able to give my Lord this Christmas is 'obedience'.
God bless you and yours this season.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda,
Amen -- obedience is the greatest gift we can give Him, even better than sacrifice. May we hear and follow His Word. Thanks as always for your comment and God bless,
Laurie

Tanza Erlambang said...

love and take care others are the best gift to lord