The GIFT Giver
This Season, Experience the ULTIMATE Giver of Gifts
Ephesians 2:8, ‘For by grace you have been saved! Nothing you did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the love gift from God that brought us to Christ!’ (TPT)
December 19th, 2022
the GIFT: Presents (ce)
The Giver stared across acres of land and oceans of waves, as far as His eye could reach, and He pondered. What more could He give this people He had dreamt into being? It—they—were nothing like He had imagined or even purposed. There were small moments, minute instances, where joy filled His soul because of the response or action or even heartbeat of one of His beings, but those times were few and far between. What more had He to gift them with in order to capture their affection, win their attention, spur them to pursue Him as much as He was pursuing them? They were so ungrateful and lackadaisical and indifferent to relationship with each other, let alone Him, the Giver of life and everything in it.
So long ago, several worlds ago, in a time before He had wiped out the whole earth and started over, before the fall and the collapse and the repurposing of mankind, He had envisioned a place where He and His creation would frolic and fellowship and ‘be’. He had heard their triumph in His soul when He walked in their space, imagined the joy with which they would greet Him, and He visualized them breaking bread together and sharing heart-to-heart chats. He longed for communion with His people; He yearned after each and every one no matter how many times it broke His heart when they ran and hid from Him. He had to pretend He couldn’t see them and all their messiness as He sought them out, and like a game of ‘Hide-N-Seek’ or ‘Tag, You’re It’, He played along because maybe—just maybe—one time, maybe, it might be one of His children who surrendered, was found by Him because they truly sought Him wholeheartedly.
It hadn’t turned out the way He had desired. He hadn’t wanted the interruption and brokenness sin ultimately established on the earth when His beings disobeyed. But their disobedience would not thwart His forever plan and He wouldn’t give up, nor would He wipe them away again—He had promised, after all. So, He pondered, what was something He hadn’t given yet? Why, they had everything. They had Him, they had each other, they had a land to till which gave back to them in reward for their work. They had imaginations in order to create great and unsearchable things, and every endowment He could offer. In addition, they could achieve success and find peace and feel joy and obtain wisdom, and greatest of all, they could attempt a semblance of love causing them to find warmth and feel fuzzy all up inside. But sadly; it had never been enough. Would anything ever be enough?
Like a thunderbolt, the Giver was struck with a passionate thought, and at once, He was filled with elation. “Ah!” He exclaimed at His ‘AHA’ moment; He knew exactly what He could give, that might just turn the tide, shake up the ebb and flow of things. He could give Himself, aha! He thought, with a smile eating His face. Instead of any other presents this time, He could give His presence, so His people would never have to walk alone, ever again. He could surround them with Himself, He could permeate and infiltrate them. He wouldn’t force Himself upon His children, but He would make Himself present and available and there, so when they had nothing else, His beings could at least feel Him, be immersed in Him, know He was near. Always.
Jeremiah 32:38-41, ‘They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’ (NKJV)
SideNote: Since the beginning of time, one of the great gifts known to mankind, even when it is not recognized as such, has always been God’s presence. As we waltz into the holiday season and we become so enamored with the glitz and glitter of Christmas, it is very easy to mistake and get wrapped up in (no pun intended) presents rather than His presence. But, let me ask you, do you recall a time or have you or are you currently living life without His presence? If you are without His presence and focused on the presents, then, although it is a glamourous time of year, it is very probable that you are feeling rather empty and forlorn. He is near to you this season; He is as near as the whisper of your heart. You can cry out to Him right now and He will come in and be with you and let you be with Him.
