Lord's Day Devotion - The Perfect Gift

Think of all the gifts you have ever gotten.  They came in all different shapes and sizes and most made you feel happy and well-liked, if not loved, by the giver.  There have been gifts for birthdays, wedding anniversaries, milestones in life, Christmas, baby gifts and sometimes, "just because".

Fathers and mothers sometimes give puppies or kittens to their young children.  What pleasure to watch all those young ones frolic in mutual delight. 

Think of God's gifts.  They are always perfect.  James 1:7 ESV says,

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..."

We know that God gave mankind dominion over the animals, and everything else He created.  They were all new and in mint condition; good and perfect.

I was musing over that when I read Psalm 8:6-9.  God entrusted human kind with all His creation!  Like the parents giving their children the puppy or kitten.  He gave lions, hippos, iguanas, whales and etc, to Adam and Eve and all their subsequent offspring.  He gave and then He must have stood back to watch the people He had made enjoy all the "works of His hands" (vs 6).  What pride and joy He must have felt.  What interesting and thrilling gifts!!

But oh, what disappointment and anguish too!  He had given so much, yet they had wanted more!

But God wasn't finished yet with His giving.

At Christmastime we think of the gift of baby Jesus, God gave to the world.  Jesus came so that He could give the gift of salvation to one and all.  We think of this at Easter time.  This was His best Gift of all; salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Oh the agony of that for God.

It is always appropriate to thank the giver of gifts.  Always remember to thank God for His Son Jesus and His gift of atonement.  This we do as often as we followers of Jesus Christ eat the bread and drink from the cup of wine, we remember the Lord's death (1 Corinthians 11:26) and thank God for securing our salvation and everlasting life-gift.

Thank-You, heavenly Father, God, for the perfect gift of Your Son Jesus Christ.  For the salvation He won for those who have received, by grace and through faith, the Gift You lovingly bestowed upon all those who believe (Ephesians 2:8).

Creation is groaning from the mess mankind has made of God's gift yet we can look forward to living with Him forever in the perfect place He has reserved for His children that will never fade or wear out (1 Peter 1:4).  There will be joy overflowing then in God's presence as we, His children, gather around His throne.  

What a perfect gift that too, will be!



                                                        ~ERC  2018~