Good Gifts

We all like opening gifts, and we do it at showers, birthday parties, Christmas, and any time we are lucky enough to receive a gift. Jesus pointed out that we also enjoy giving good gifts to someone we love: “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:9-11, NIV)

Does God Really Give Gifts?

Right after he instructed his followers to ASK (“Ask, Seek, and Knock), Jesus spoke confidently of the fact that the Father gives good things to those who ask Him. I don’t know about you, but I personally have asked God for a lot of things that I didn’t get. (Ok, so maybe they were utterly selfish things, or maybe I was trying to make a deal with God to avoid consequences, but I asked and did not receive. So does that mean Jesus was lying, or that he just didn’t know what he was talking about? Or did it perhaps mean that I had absolutely the wrong perspective on gifts, and on how God gives?)

I know the Bible teaches that God loves to bless His children with gifts, but is that really true? I do know the Bible uses the word “give” 1433 times, and that’s a LOT. But how many of them have to do with God’s gifts to us?

Read the creation account. God GAVE creation to man. In Genesis 9:3 God said, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.” The Lord told Abram, “Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” (Genesis 13:17) Read all the “gives” in the Bible, and I think you will find that God has been pretty consistent about giving.

How Much Does a Gift Cost?

Paul echoes this teaching about God’s generosity, and He extends it beyond creation or even a promised land into another realm: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12, NIV) Paul says that God has given us his Spirit so that we can recognize the things he has given to us. Put on your spiritual glasses for a minute. Make a list of the things God has given you.

We almost always start with material things—and I’m not saying that they are not indicators of God’s generosity—but I’m also not sure that material comforts and money are that important to Him either. (For some reason that makes me think of Tevya singing “If I Were a Rich man” in “Fiddler on the Roof”. He talks to God about material blessing and says, “I realize that it’s no sin to be poor; but it’s no great honor, either.” Tevya thought that perhaps God’s plan would not be disturbed by making him a rich man, but still discovered God’s presence in his own humble circumstances…)

What Kinds Mean the Most?

So, try to set material gifts aside for a moment and reflect on just the Spiritual blessings that God has given us for free: His Son. His Spirit. Access to the throne of Grace. His Presence. Prayer. Fellowship. The New Covenant. Perspective. Love. Wisdom. The Word. Adoption into His family. Resurrection. The hope of Glory. I could go on, but hey, it’s YOUR list. Write it down!

What has God given you? How generous has He been? Perhaps the true depth of His generosity can be measured by the costliest gift. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32, NIV) Ask. Seek. Knock. Receive.

Generous Gifts

Which of you would give your child a snake and not a fish?
And who would give a rock when it is bread for which they wish?
If you, being evil, give good gifts to those you love,
Then how much will your Father give you more from heaven above?
It is not just material things, or opening some presents,
But basking in your Father’s love and being in His presence.
If He could give His son for us, it’s very clear to see
That we cannot out-give the Father’s generosity.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread