Thinking About the Gift

Good Friday Morning Lake Tapps

Now that the rush of Christmas is over and we survey the pile of wrapping paper, let’s take a breather and consider the gifts we received.  Did you get the gift you wanted?  Earlier this week I went to Costco and saw the return/exchange line stretching out the door into the parking lot.  That got me thinking about the One Gift we all received at Christmas time, and why we would never want to return it.  That Gift is the Lord Jesus given to us by our heavenly Father.

How is that Gift different from all the others we received?  The Gift of God isn’t based on the position we have on the naughty or nice list.  The truth is that if we were to be judged on the basis of God’s righteousness, we would all be on the naughty list.  That’s what makes His Gift so wonderful.  It’s not a result of our effort but is a result of His grace and mercy and love for us.

Just consider His Gift for a moment.  The penalty for all our sins has been paid on our behalf by Christ.  It’s as if we’d never sinned in the first place.  We now have His very Spirit living inside us, guiding our way and drawing us close to Jesus and other believers.  Because of that communion we will have eternal life in the presence of God and loved ones who have gone on before us.

So, as we approach a new year, I pray that we will go with the knowledge that the Gift of God goes with us wherever we go and will never leave us.  He will guide us and comfort us on the dark days and will rejoice with us on the good days.

And speaking of the new year, registration is now open for the next session of LTCC mid-week studies.  Click here to see what’s classes are available.
 

Gary for the Elders
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Gary Warne