I remember several years ago the Christmas of 1977 (I was 10 years old at the time). I had been hinting around for several months leading up to it, that I wanted a bike like my friends on the block. But not just any bike would do, it must be red/white and black for I was very specific on what I wanted (which to me was a NEED and not a want).
Well Christmas morning came and after we had finished opening all of the packages ( our living room looking like a scene right out of War of the Worlds) I thought there still must be one gift yet to be given. As I looked at my Mom and Dad with a look of "haven't you guys forgotten something" my Dad said "Well kids, I hope you enjoy all the gifts and we realize we didn't get everything you asked for, however we did the best we could" as you can imagine I was CRUSHED! How could they not have picked up on my hints about the red/white and black bike? I did everything short of take out a front page ad in the local newspaper! And on top of that, my Dad asked me if I would go out into the garage and get some bags so that we could clean up the mess we had made with all the wrapping paper.
As I opened the door to the garage my disappointment has turned into mass disbelief as standing right in front of me was the one gift I thought had eluded me the Red-White and Black bike!!!!!! At this point I totaly forgot what Dad had sent me into the garage for ( I came to find out later he didn't send me out there for trash bags afterall). I didn't take very long before I was going to all of my friends house to show off my new bike and to share my excitment with them. I loved the gift so much that I couldn't wait to share the gift with other's around me. It wasn't that I had to think if I should share it but rather, how many people can I share this special gift with in a short period of time??
My question for ALL of us today is, how excited are we to share the most precious gift, the most perfect gift and that being the gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Chrsit?
As children or as adults for that matter, we all enjoy receiving gifts. I will tell you that I love Christmas I am just a big kid when it comes to gifts. The kids and I always pick up the wrapped gifts and shake them and try and guess what is inside. The excitment of trying to guess what it is and even greater excitment of knowing it has MY name on it fills my heart with joy. So too does the gift of the cross of Jesus Christ have YOUR name on it, but not your's only but for all those "who would have an ear to hear". This blog is not intended to be an in-depth bible study but rather a study of your personnal relationship to Jesus Christ. How many of us on Christmas morning completley ignore the big box in the middle of the room, wrapped with a "RED" ribbon and bow, with a HUGE hand written note on it that say's To: You From:Dad? I would guess that none of us do for it is beautiful, hand addressed to me. So too is the gift of Jesus Christ.
Let us remember that the gift is for each of us, however as we saw in the example of the bike it is a gift that is meant to be sharred!!!!!!!! Find your strength in Him and Him alone and remember, it is His words that shall procede out of your mouth and not those of your own.
Grace and Peace
Steve
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5 comments:
Hi
It is hard for me to share the amazing gift with others.
I just don't want to share my faith with someone when I do not even know what I believe in.
Vanessa
I get excited about sharing something that goes on in my life, that I KNOW is God working in my life-- but I tell someone else, and they are much less than excited. Usually, they look at me kind of bored or like I am crazy (which is normal, but when I talk about God, I would much rather it be infectious, than just strange). They don't even want to SEE the excitement in what I want to share. They would rather question it, or refuse it completely. I am speaking of other Christians in this instance. Granted, we all have our moments of discouragement, when we are unable to accept easily the happiness of others (quite frequently!), but when people who truly love God (these other Christians, rejecting the happiness or joy) reject the gifts that you carry, it's difficult to think you will be accepted by someone who doesn't have Christ in their life. How do you share then?
Ruth
I UNDERSTAND RUTH'S FRUSTRATION, BUT IT DAWNED ON ME RECENTLY (IT ONLY TOOK ME 50 YEARS TO GET IT), WE ARE SEED SCATTERERS, WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RESPONSE. THE OTHER PERSON'S HEART IS THE GROUND, AND IT WILL BE RECEPTIVE OR NOT. ****ALSO, WHEN WE FIRST HEARD OF THE ROAD, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY WE ATTENDED. I WANTED TO SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE, BUT I WASN'T REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT UNTIL WE STARTED COMING. UNFORTUNATELY, MANY PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH HAVE LET THE JOY OF THE LORD FADE OVER TIME, BUT WE CAN'T GET DISCOURAGED ABOUT THAT. IF YOU LIVE AN EXCITED & JOYFUL LIFE FOR CHRIST, OTHERS WILL SEE AND SOMEONE (MAYBE ONLY ONE PERSON) WILL BE INFLUENCED FOR GOOD. BE IN PRAYER ABOUT THIS, & GOD WILL LEAD YOU TO THAT PERSON AT THE RIGHT TIME. BUT, I KNOW IT'S FRUSTRATING WHEN YOU TRY AND TRY, AND NOTHING HAPPENS.
I HAVE TO SAY IF YOU MISSED THE ROAD ON THURSDAY, NOV 1, YOU MISSED AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE!! WE GOT TO PLAY WITH PLAYDOUGH! (REALLY)-- ANYWAY, HAD A WONDERFUL LESSON & SHARING TIME. MY MOM & ONE OF HER FRIENDS ATTENDED AND REALLY ENJOYED IT. I HAVE TO ENCOURAGE YOU NOT TO MISS EVEN ONE EPISODE OF THE ROAD! STEVE'S FAMILY WILL BE THERE NEXT WEEK, LET'S SHOW SOME SUPPORT. GOD'S LOVE IS FOR US ALL, LET'S LET HIS SPIRIT WORK IN US.
The best and only way to share the gift is by being that gift to someone. Jesus loved us first, so we also ought to love one another. Love is the gift, but can we give it? Learn from the master and be the gift of faithfulness... Jesus didn't share his faith he showed his faith by what he did. He is our commander, let us be like him :)
Grace and peace to all of you.
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