My wife has taught me a great deal about the importance of giving gifts. The definition of “gift” makes clear it is not something that is earned, nor obtained by compulsion. It is an act of the will by one party to the benefit of another party. What I failed to appreciate was the importance of the “investment” in selecting the gift. Prior to this spousal awakening, I would have supposed investment to be related to a financial metric. With patience, she opened my eyes to the importance of the message communicated when giving a gift. The investment includes careful consideration with intentionality motivated by a willingness to impact the life of another in a meaningful way. The gift is a means to an end – conveying relational value through this thoughtful action.
Generally, we associate gift giving with an occasion for celebration – a birthday, anniversary, holiday, or some other special occasion. But have you ever received a “gift” when you were in desperate need of help? Samaritan’s Purse is an organization which provides medical support, life essentials, and boots on the grounds to help clean up and rebuild when individuals have suffered devastating loss in a war-torn region or a natural disaster. People send a message of love, compassion, and concern through the giving of their time, talent and treasure. Sometimes just being present can be a way of communicating with those in distress that they are not alone nor forgotten. People in such circumstances are usually very grateful, receiving these gift messages with deep appreciation.
But there is one desperate situation in which the need for a gift isn’t always embraced – the gift message isn’t well received. The veil of worldly pursuits prohibits many from recognizing their broken relationship with God. The Bible articulates that we are born with a sinful nature possessing no desire to seek after God, lacking any sensitivity to His righteousness, nor feeling any compulsion to worship the One who created all things (Ps 14 & 53, Rom 3). Driven by a passion for autonomy, this self-centered world view testifies to such a natural bent away from God. The apostle Paul makes clear that the wages of this rebellion against a holy God is spiritual death. Such dissonance reveals the chasmic spiritual separation – a relational distance which is insurmountable when pursued by our own works. Lost in this natural state, spiritually dead in transgressions against God’s righteousness, those who are drawn (John 6:44) become aware of the desperate need to be rescued from this domain of darkness. A conviction comes upon their heart that such deliverance requires the work of another, the bridging of the chasm such that their relationship with God might be restored.
Before the time of Adam’s sinful rebellion in the Garden of Eden, God’s sovereign plan was in place. With intentionality, God made an investment in a gift which would convey a powerful message – rich in mercy, great in love, made possible by an ineffable sacrifice. What was impossible for man, God accomplished by sending His Son to perfectly fulfill the Law, to pay the penalty for our sin by the shedding of His innocent blood. To all who receive the gift, the righteousness of Christ is imputed, our debt having been paid in full. The chasm has been closed, the veil of the temple torn in two that we might once again dwell in His presence having been declared righteous by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone. The call of God comes upon our hearts through the work of the Holy Spirit that we need to receive this gift – one which delivers all who believe from the darkness of despair to the light of his presence forever. There is no greater expression of love than this gift message from God.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6::23
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