With love from…

Is there anybody I know who does not love presents? No. If you don’t, that’s crazy! Beginning of this month my little sister went into our storeroom and dragged out all the Christmas decorations in order to decorate the house. My train of thought was “Oh no. She’s just making a big mess – Christmas is three months away from now”, however I paused briefly. Why was she doing this?  The answer was obvious – presents.

We’ve all been there, growing up – at the place of excitement, anticipating the annual celebratory seasons. Such moments usually come with the expectation of not just people coming together, but also receiving a present or two. Whether it is birthday presents, the easter chocolates or the wrapped up Christmas gifts, let’s be honest – we love presents.

The thing about presents is that when there is no one giving them, there is no receiving.

Being on the giving end is usually weighty however being on the receiving end, you will never have to know the sacrifice of the giver. It could have been their last penny.  The craziest givers usually wish they could give more but are limited in supply.

Generally speaking, the concept of giving usually works according to certain conditions in scope of our love.

Would you agree that:

• It is easy to give when we know we will get something in return?
• It is easy to give because we already received?
• It is easy to give to those whom we think deserve it?
• It is super easy to pick and choose from our list of good people to give to?
• It is easy to measure the value of the gift according to the receiver?

The list goes on.  Yet, I know a certain Someone who disregards this idea of conditional giving.

Santa says you have to be good all year through to receive a present; this Person says “I give because I Am“.  Another will say give me and I will give you; this Person says “I will give you liberally before you ever think of giving to Me“.  Yet also another will say I do not give to those who don’t deserve it – but this Person says, “you don’t deserve it that is why I will give you in abundance“.

Does it sound backwards?

Who can give a gift in the form of an inheritance to those who murdered an only son? Nobody can. Only an awesome loving God can do that – and that is pretty amazing!

We give according to our personal judgment of worth and the conditions of our love. Since our love remains conditional and our resources can be limited, our giving capacity fluctuates. But Christ gives according to His own worth. He is worth more than gold and He is worth more than life. He also gives according to His riches. He has an eternally unlimited supply of riches.  No amount of giving in this world can measure up to the depth of His giving.

The greatest gift we have received as an inheritance from God through the death of Christ is not access to the supernatural power of God. Whilst that is beneficial, it is still not the main focus. Neither is it wisdom nor material blessings.

Understand that the gift God gave to mankind was presented as an inheritance not because we deserved it, but because of His unconditional love. The sacrifice was great because the gift was greater. You will come to discover that the greatest gift we receive from God when we believe in Jesus Christ, is Himself.