More Blessed to Give Than Receive

When my granddaughter Holly, was 4 years old her mother took her and our grandson Brady to Dollar Tree so each of them could buy a gift for Sherri and a gift for me.  Holly was really excited about getting me a gift.  She chose something that she thought I would like, and she couldn’t wait until Christmas Eve to give me that special gift.  Finally it was Christmas Eve, all of our family was together, and it was time for us to open our presents.  All of the gifts were handed out. The children opened their gifts first. Then the rest of us took turns opening our gifts, the oldest to the youngest. 

But Holly couldn’t wait any longer.  She put her gifts aside to watch Pa open her gift to him. She came over to me with my present that she had picked out and handed it to me.  There was the biggest smile on her face you’ve ever seen.  She was so excited that Pa was going to open her gift.  She stood there, those big eyes fixed on me in anticipation of my response to what was in her gift to me. .  Her eyes got bigger and bigger as I torn open the wrapping paper.  When the  last bit of paper was removed and I opened the box I saw a huge pair of one dollar plastic safety goggles..  I said, “Holly, this is just what I need!  These goggles are fantastic!  Thank you so much!.”  

Her response was priceless.  She began jumping up and down, clapping her hands and that precious smile could have lit up the room.  I put those goggles on and the rest of the family laughed uncontrollably.  I picked Holly up and gave her a big hug.  That little four year old girl showed all of us what it means to have a giving heart.  She epitomized what Christmas means.  It is more blessed to give than to receive.  

Thinking back on that night I see God bringing to us the most precious Gift and placing it in our hands.  He says, “Here, this Gift is for you. Will you receive it?”  He steps back and with a look of anticipation waits to see if we will truly receive that blessed Gift.  He watches to see what our response will be.  Hopefully we say, “Thank you God, this is just what I need.  This Gift is all I need.  It is fantastic”. When we respond in this way it pleases God and He smiles.  His smile lights up our world forever.  God is the Giver of many gifts, but no gift is as wonderful as the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Are You A V.I.P.

 Are You A V.I.P.

The estimated population of the world was reported to be 7.8 billion (2021).How many people have ever been born since the beginning of time? Someone estimated this to be 117 billion. I think that estimate is way too low. Only God knows. Of the total number of people ever born, with the exception of Jesus, who has God considered the most important? Of those 7.8 billion living today who would God pick as most important? What about those now living in our nation? Who is the most important in your state, your town, or just the people you know? There would be a lot of arguments about who is the most important. Sadly there are many who at the very least think they are more important than someone they know. 

How can anyone think they are more important than others when the Bible tells us, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Another verse says. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” There is no mention in this verse that says God loves any of the 7.8 billion people in the world more than others. We can safely say that considers any human more important than any other human.

Somewhere in the world there is a little boy known only by his parents and he will never be known outside his village nor be considered great by the world’s standards. But in the eyes of God this small boy is as important as the wealthiest most well known man in the world. God loves him as much as he does the person thean some might consider to be most worthy of God’s love. 

And there you are. You may not think you are important. You may feel unworthy of God’s love because you just can’t seem to live the way you think you should. Your importance to God is not based on your status in the world. God’s love for you does not depend on the good you haven’t done or the bad you have done. God’s great love for you and the fact that you are extremely important to him are evident because you are his precious creation. Only our infinite God could pick you out of 7.6 billion people at this moment and say, “I love you so much that I gave my Son to die for you so that you might have eternal live. You are incredibly important to me!”