Loving the Giver

A few days ago, I read a devotional which really got me thinking about gifts.  Not the kind we are all rushing around to purchase this time of year, but gifts we receive from God.

It's easy to be thankful for gifts like answered prayers, especially when God answers them in the fashion we had hoped.  Often though, He gives us gifts we don't even recognize or acknowledge, not realizing it's for our good.  Things are not always as they seem.

I began to ponder the characteristics of God's gifts.  First, we know they are all good.  James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  

Second, all gifts are filtered through the Father's hand.  He only sends gifts that benefit us.  This is when we often miss what God is doing or are unaware until much later.  I think about how the apostles grieved when Jesus told them He had to go away for awhile.  Jesus said to them, "Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:6-7)  In a situation that appeared to be tragic, the apostles didn't understand there was a purpose.  How many times do we get caught up emotionally in negative circumstances and fail to recognize them as a gift from God?  All the time.  Right?

Third, God's gifts are free.  They are not buy one, get one free.  We cannot earn God's gifts, which is a good thing for us, because not even Bill Gates could afford them!  He does promise rewards for the good we do (Ephesians 6:8), but the Bible does not say when those rewards may come.  If you are a parent (and after all, God is our Heavenly Father), you know there is a difference between rewards and gifts you give your children.

Finally, God's gifts are always what we need.  They may not necessarily be what we want.  Think of children at Christmas.  They squeal with delight over the things they asked for and received, but they ignore the gifts they aren't interested in, which is usually needed items like clothing.  We often behave the same way with God's gifts.  I don't think that's what Jesus meant when He said we should become like a child.  :)

And, like a child, we are more interested in the gifts than the giver.  The devotion I read challenged me to consider what I wanted more:  Jesus, or just the gifts He has to give.

Some of the best gifts in my life were ones I never even asked for (can you guess what the best one was?).  Yet God knew the desires of my heart.  He knows me better than I know myself because He created me.

This Christmas, our gifts are already under the tree - the tree of life, that is. 2 Peter 1:3 says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."  All we have to do is accept His gift of everything.  May we be thankful for all of it, and may we come to love the Giver most of all.