The Best Gifts

Just in time for Christmas! It’s been well said the best gifts are not the ones we receive but the ones we give away. One of the things I love about studying spiritual gifts in the Bible is the thought that God endows us with gifts that He sees fit in our advancing His kingdom and causes in the world. Spiritual gifts have nothing to do with our natural abilities and are not given based on any merit of our own. God in His grace gives. God doesn’t force His gifts on His children and in many cases He bestows on us the desire of our own heart even when it doesn’t necessarily align with His. That’s why we need to be prayerful in the things we ask God for because we might just get what we are asking and as Psalm 106:15 warns, “And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.” A great reminder that the best gifts come from within not without.

Christmas is the celebration of God giving Himself to us when He came in human flesh. The best gifts always come in the form of a person not a thing and even the best things we can give others are gifts that point to and serve the gifts they possess within. When the wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus each of those gifts served as a reminder of the call of God upon the Christ child. Something to think about when we are seeking the best gifts to give. Seek gifts that support others in fulfilling their God ordained purpose in this life. Gold represented Jesus kingship as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Frankincense represented the worship of God and when given to Jesus it was an act of worship of Him. Lastly, myrrh was a prophetic gift that represented the purpose of Jesus being born, to save the world from sin by dying on the Cross.  

Something to think about this Christmas. The best gifts we can give others might just be the ones that help them discover and better understand who they are, why they were born and how they can go about living life to the fullest each day as they learn how to give themselves away. After all, love isn’t love until we give it away.

I LOVE YOU!