Gifted
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
(2 Corinthians 9:15, NKJV)
In the hustle and bustle of life, many rarely take the time to look back at what has been, where they have been to and the outcomes of their efforts. It is always a push for the next and next, so much so that if we are not careful, we shall continue to run after mirages which are not helpful to us. However, if we are to grow in any area of life, setting goals to achieve is a good thing, it keeps us motivated and moving forward. Even more fulfilling than setting the goals is looking back and noting the milestones achieved, the successes made and conquered journey taken so far. This gives us the confidence and impetus to step further ahead, knowing that we are well equipped to succeed in our chosen paths. The full appreciation of success achieved is very dependent on the clarity of the goals which had been set. For many of us, this kind of self-appraisal takes place at the end of a season, a year or even a new birthday.
As the calendar year ends, we also get a chance to remember and celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. The birth of Jesus was not random, it had been planned and prophesied. When God the Father sent His Son Jesus to come to earth, He had a goal - the saving of man. Jesus, whose birth we remember this time, came as a gift of God to man, a bridge into eternal life. Our reference verse mentions God’s indescribable gift, one that is beyond our ability to explain or understand, that a loving Father sent His Son for a sinful man. Jesus is the free gift of God to man. The grace and mercies of God upon us drove Him to send us His only begotten Son so that we could be made the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). This was the goal of God and as we reflect on our lives and on the year ending, we need to individually answer to the question whether we have actualized God’s goal through the gift of Jesus, the goal of receiving Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. We know the achievement of this goal changes who we are for the bible says that those who believe in Jesus Christ become the children of God (John 1:12). This my friend is a gift worth accepting and celebrating. I do not know what you are grateful for at this time, but I hope the gift of Jesus is one, if not, please consider accepting it.
As human beings, when we ask what we are grateful for, we tend to think of tangible things that we have received, and yes, these are important. As physical beings, the tangible and material things make sense to our minds and no wonder we continually seek more, but could we for a moment thank God too for the intangible things. The old hymnal by Johnson Oatman reminds us to count our blessings name them one by one and it will surprise us what the Lord has done. We count what we know and have an appreciation of, but I dare say there is more that we should be thankful for that we are not even cognizant of. We can thank God for even those things that could have messed our lives but God in His own way, protected us from. A lot of travelling is taking place, arriving in a place safely is by the mercies of God, being able to breathe freely is a gift, having loved ones around you is a gift. Beloved, you get the drift, these examples might not fit your situation at the moment, but the truth is that there is always something to be thankful for. Psychologists tells us that living in gratitude, enhances our well-being as it powerfully rewires our brain for more joy and less stress. Practicing gratitude means that we take time to deliberately look out for what things and experiences that we are thankful for. We can learn to be grateful people, not just when we receive gifts and are in parties, but throughout our lives. May this be a lesson we take forward. In this season as we give each other gifts, may we also receive the gift of God, for we too have been gifted with God’s greatest gift – Jesus Christ.
Thoughts:
Have you received God’s gift to you?
What are you thankful for?
How can you purposefully live in gratitude?