Skip to main content

Giving and Receiving

2 Corinthians 8:9  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 

Tis the season for gift giving.  We give and receive from all sorts of places.  A week ago a letter arrive in the post which contained two artful and scribbled drawings from two four year old grandchildren.  Along with the two we received in California from our two grandchildren there, the four have made their way to the refrigerator - the art gallery of all homes.

These gifts won't replace a Picasso or a Renoir, but they will stay proudly displayed because they came from little hearts as gifts of love.

Advent reminds us that it is in the little things that gifts are given.

I read recently of some lavish gifts that are for sale to be given...thousands of dollars, and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars.  I won't judge the person who would give gifts like that because I wouldn't know their hearts in giving what they can.  Perhaps they have the money and delight in giving such things.  Perhaps if I were in the same shoes I might be looking at lavish gift catalogs also.

But God delights in simple gifts that come from joy, love, the heart.  That is why he chose to send His Son into the world as a baby - born in a stable - of two poor young Jewish people - in a small village on the outskirts of the metropolis - with Shepherds as the first visitors.  We get the point.  It's not the extravagance of the gift, it's where the gift came from in the heart of the person who gives.

Several Christmas' ago our daughter and son-in-law - who live in England - came home for Christmas.  Along with our other children and their families we celebrated Christmas as we often do with music, games, laughter, food, and gifts.  That year our daughter gave each of us something very personal - the gift of her own making - music.
For me a recording of a lovely piece on a violin - something she knows I love listening to.  For her mother, a beautiful solo recording of a lovely hymn.  It brought each of us to tears to listen to the music, but mostly to know that it was from the heart.  Years later the gift still keeps on giving.

This is the Advent message - God gives from the heart and the gift keeps on giving.

Romans 3:21-24   But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—
22  the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24  and [we] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  

 And also

Ephesians 2:5-8,  
even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6  and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8  For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Think about it - God gave US salvation as a gift,  and gave US to His Son as a gift.  May all of our gifts be so generous and from the heart.

Peace

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wednesday, Day 25: Christmas Eve - God Loves Us (So We Can Relax)

For Kids: There’s a lot of things we have to do each day. Get up from our sleep, Get dressed, Eat Breakfast, Get ready for School, Listen to the teacher, play with friends, eat our lunch, and after it’s all done, go back home. There’s time to play, Then we eat our supper… And eventually we have to get ready for bed and go to sleep! And then we do it all over again the next day. Sometimes there’s a vacation - like right now - and we get more time to play, to have fun and not have to do work at school. Our parents are good at helping us know what time it is and what we need to do next – even when we don’t want to move on to the next thing.  God is also good at helping us know what time it is, and what is next.  He doesn’t shout at us, or yell, or even scream…he does it peacefully, quietly.  He wants us to understand that he does it, most of all, for us. Christmas can be quite busy and there’s lots of things going on at once…but let us not forg
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tabernacle

The readings today are Exodus 36, 37, 38 I wanted to post some pictures of what these various parts of the Tabernacle looked like. It's not the easiest read in the world, but if you persevere through it, you can get a picture of all the different pieces that made up the tabernacle. It is a replica of the various parts of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness: First thing in the chapter listed is the outside of the tabernacle which consisted of curtains tied together and put on cross bars through loops. Next at the beginning of 37 is the table and lampstand: Also, the altar of incense: And, the altar for the burnt offering which was in the courtyard: Finally, the courtyard which made it all come together: Hope that helps with what it might have all looked like. Most importantly, this was their "place" of worship they were building. I hope you have a great day of worship. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
1 comment
Read more

The difference between defending and explaining

The news of recent has focused the suffering of Christians in the middle east who have been martyred for their faith in Christ at the hands of Islamic Terrorists. Through the centuries many Christians have lost their lives as a result of their faith. For us, who live in America, there is little chance that we would have this happen here - but it's entirely possibly that terrorism will strike out at Christians sometime.  But, for many Christians in the western world - especially here in the U.S. - being a Christians who believes God's word there is a form of persecution that is defined by words like "ostracized", "passed over", "ridiculed", and more. What do we do in the face of opposition to faith? When the Apostle Peter writes to the early believers who are undergoing great pressure, even persecution for their faith in Jesus, he gives them this charge. 1 Peter 3:8-18 8  Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly lov
1 comment
Read more