the GIFT GIVER
John 1:14, ‘The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.’ (MSG)
December 20th, 2023
He is the ULTIMATE Gift Giver!
Galatians 5:22-23:
Divine Love in all its varied expressions: Joy that overflows; Peace that subdues; Patience that endures; Kindness in action; a life full of Virtue; Faith that prevails; Gentleness of heart; Strength of spirit. (TPT)
“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance, about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.’ (MSG)
GENTLENESS of Heart
Matthew 11:28-30, ‘”Are you tired? Worn out? Burnt out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you will recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”’ (MSG)
‘“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”’ (NIV)
Colossians 3:12, ‘You are always and dearly loved by God! So, robe yourself with virtues of God since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others and be compassionate. Showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others.’ (TPT)
Webster says gentleness is intentional mildness. That made me smile. Webster used other words such as tame, amiable, carefulness, kindness, tenderness; pliable. There isn’t much intentional mildness in life today. We don’t handle people with caution. We are out for our own selves, so there’s not much flexibility, fluidity and resiliency coming naturally. In other words, we’re not very limber in our relationships.
But God says to be compassionate as He is compassionate. Be gentle as He is gentle. Be simple. Do not think of ourselves as superior to others or better than we ought to consider oneself. In fact, Christ humbled Himself to the point of death, on a cross, for you and for me, instead paying the debt that I owed for my sin, paying the ransom for you so you might be brought home, that we might be saved from ourselves. Gentleness in many ways reminds me of kindness and goodness, all attributes of Almighty God.
In Scripture, we find demonstration after confirmation after expression of the gentleness, kindness and goodness of God. He is the good God who walked in the garden in the cool of the day, to seek out His children who had gone into hiding from Him. He is the God who sewed them clothing to cover their rawness and vulnerability and shame. Instead of staring at and remarking about their nakedness, He clothed them. He is the good God who time and again bought His children back out of slavery, who brought mankind out of pits they consistently made and buried themselves in, who shows up right at the perfect time to fulfill the needs we have, to heal the cries of our hearts. He bottles our tears; He sets the lonely in families; He gives us the fullest of lives in the emptiest of places.
Jesus gave a woman who didn’t even know she was desolate living water. He gave His best friends their brother back as he stumbled from a tomb wrapped in graveclothes, wiping death from his brow to the delight of his sisters. Jesus’ gentleness was so complete, it seeped from Himself into a woman who simply reached out to touch Him because, in her desperation, she believed He would heal her. He rescued humanity from bondage to demons, gave sight to the blind and mobility to the lame, and freedom from sin to anyone who sought Him. He is still doing that today for you and me. Jesus is the fulfillment of everything I ever did wrong, the propitiation and appeasement for my poor choices.
During this season so focused on gifts and giving, receiving and materialism, buying, decorating and wrapping, the ribbons and glitter and lights make it easy to forget what really took place on that night so long ago. The greatest and most extravagant and ‘giving’ gift ever given happened then. God gave. Jesus came. The Holy Spirit stayed. John 3:16-17, ‘This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.’ (MSG) Gently, God loves the world back to right-standing with Him.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION:
She didn’t know how to accept the handout or return the hug or acknowledge the kindness. It embarrassed her; made her feel shallow and incapable and condescended upon. Mainly because she couldn’t comprehend it. It troubled her, so her response was like an arms-length transaction taking place, and she turned away so no one could see the horror in her eyes. Words like ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ and ‘you’re welcome’ were a foreign language to her. She never heard them, and she never let them fall from her lips. She was used to comments that shouldn’t come from any person’s mouth, and certainly not hers. But it is all Hannah knew.
She grew up in the projects. Her earliest memories were unpleasant, so Hannah blocked them long ago. She had the scars to prove they weren’t worthy to remember, and even the nightmares that still tattled occasionally reminded her she had escaped something. Hannah was smart, but she spent too much time making herself dumb so everyone would leave her alone. It suited her better; fit the description of a black girl from the projects without a family, a hope or affection. She had high aspirations and thought that someday all this would change, that her life would be different, better, worthwhile. Every day that swept by now though took her further from what she once dreamed might happen. Like dirt being brushed under a rug, Hannah was beginning to fathom the future ahead like a disappearing act and with despair and distaste.
Then came the new family. Hannah had been flying beneath the radar for months now and had finally made it to her senior year. She was almost there, almost free. She really couldn’t blame the cop who shined his scope at her curled against the sycamore tree in the abandoned park. The rain fell like sheets and had pooled around her bottom and her feet, and her shivering was inconsolable. Fall spoke in the air. Another month and this would be snow, having turned to sleet. Hannah was so stiff she couldn’t bear to move; there was no escaping him or his spotlight. But, really, in the end, it paid off, because she got a warm cot and some dry clothes. Or so she thought, waiting to mumble the precursory words, then planning to bolt. Then came the new family.
Hannah almost blanched as they led her into their cozy three-story home. The mother and the father, followed by a short stack, a little dork with a huge grin named Timmy, beckoned her up a carpeted flight of stairs to a second story. Hannah peered around, looking for ways to escape, in case they attempted to rape her or beat her. It’s what she knew; tattoos of her childhood seared upon her instincts and her heart like open wounds. Instead, they pointed to a pale pink room with a lacey bedspread and a rainbow of stuffed animals, all kinds and sizes. Her eyes grew to fifty-cent pieces, wide open, amazed, as she looked around. Quietly, she lifted her eyes to face the woman who one day she would end up calling ‘Mom’. And she whispered, “For me?” She’d never had one of those: a bed, a room, the ruffles, frills and fluff. “Yes, sweetie, for you,” the woman answered. They were the gentlest words Hannah had ever heard.
The first time the woman hugged her; the first time the man patted her shoulder; the first time the little boy wrapped his arms around her neck and begged her to pick him up; the first time they tucked her in and placed a quiet kiss on her forehead; the first time they took her shopping for her own clothing and belongings and her very first backpack; the first time they took her to church and then when they announced they wanted to dedicate themselves to being her example to everyone in the congregation; the first time they told her about Jesus; the first time…It was all monumental. Especially when they asked if they could adopt her—if she would allow them to be her parents, her family. It was kindness in action; a basic gentleness that caused goose flesh and brought shivers and made her heart so full it might implode. Hannah swore to herself she’d be the best girl ever, because she never wanted to lose this feeling and these people who called her their family.
Family. A word she’d never known before; only heard about from kids at school. Family. A noun she thought she would never use in a personal context. Family. A dream come true. It reminded her of hot cocoa on a snowy day. Water gently lapping on the shore. The feel of a puppy’s nose against her cheek. Looked like her diploma on graduation day, her acceptance letter from the university. She learned it felt like fluffy towels in the dryer, smelled like a gentle rain, was peace like the beautiful feeling at night right before one falls asleep. The goodness, kindness, the gentleness of God. His love in all its splendor.
Psalm 18:19, ‘He stood me in a wide-open field. I stood there saved; surprised to be loved!’ (MSG)
MERRY CHRISTMAS! May next year be bright.
Our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the Universe, Holy God, the Spirit of the Living God, Perfect One, is the ultimate gift giver. Just like we as parents are eager to give gifts to our children, our Father desires to give gifts that are beneficial and good and profitable for us. He delights in giving gifts, like kindness, to His children for our good, and ultimately, for His glory.
James 1:16-18, ‘So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life, using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all His creatures.’ (MSG)
