Monday, December 5, 2022

            Christmas is the season of gift giving.  Children share gift requests with Santa while sitting on his lap.  Some retailers allow you to sign-up for a gift registry.  Some online sellers even allow you to compile a wish list.  There is a popular Christmas song about a grown-up Christmas list. And remember that the wise men brought gifts to Jesus as they recognized who He truly was.  Gift-giving was originally God’s idea.  He gave us life.  He gave Adam and Eve a perfect garden to call home.  And at Christmas, we celebrate the greatest of all gifts—the birth of Jesus.  Indeed, Scripture reminds that God’s love is so great and so strong that He gave us His one and only Son.  James is careful to remind us of the origin of the gifts we enjoy.  James wrote, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).  A few lessons stand out about God for us to see.
            First, God is the source or originator of every gift.  Grace itself is a gift.  James wrote comprehensively.  “Every” gift, James wrote, comes from God.  Not a few gifts but all gifts.  By His perfect nature, God is a giver.  Salvation itself is a gift.  We do not work for salvation or try to earn it by our best efforts.  We might receive gifts through people, organizations or places, but God is the originator of all gifts that we possess. 
            Second, God knows how to bless us and provide for us.  He knows what we need before we even ask for it or receive it.  God does not randomly or haphazardly send blessings to us.  He is aware of our situations in life and what we most need to have and when we need to have it.  God is not limited in blessing us in only one particular way.  Not every blessing is financial or material in nature.  Some of God’s greatest blessings are beyond human sight or hearing.  We may not even be able to touch or handle them.
            Third, God does not change.  He is a giver and a provider.  Like a loving earthly father knows what his children need or require, God does too.  God does not play games with His blessings.  He does not dangle them in front of us like we might dangle a string in front of a cat or something shiny in front of a baby.  God’s gifts are always better than we could have imagined or gained by ourselves.  We can trust that God’s gifts are exactly what is needed and when they are needed. 
            Fourth, God expects us to use the gifts that He provides.  God blesses us so we can in turn bless others.  God gives to us that we might give freely to others.  One of God’s greatest blessings is turning a clenched hand into an open hand or turning a miserly heart into a gracious and generous one.  God once told Moses to look at what he already had in his hand.  We can easily serve God with what we have now.  We do not have to wait to be blessed before we can bless others. We already possess some blessings that can be turned into gifts that we offer to others.
            James bids us to be both hearers and doers of the Word (James 1:22).  He also instructs us to demonstrate or to show our faith by our deeds and the things that we do (James 2:18).  In this season of gifts and gifting to others, take a look at what you already have and use it for His glory and the good of others.  If you are looking for a way to serve or a way to give, we have a few angels left on our church’s angel tree.  You can also give to our missions offerings (Lottie Moon and Global Missions).  Have a great Monday and remember you can share our worship any time at youtube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.