The Ultimate Christmas Gift part 2
Category: Faithblogs
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In my last Faithblog I began to look at the ultimate Christmas gift, namely Jesus, and asked the question, how do you measure the value of a gift?
Well, in the next four Faithblog’s I want to take the time to examine this further by looking at how to measure the ultimate Christmas gifts worth? I will then conclude on Christmas eve with some thoughts and pointers to help us fully appreciate God’s gift to us.
Today I want to get the ball rolling by saying that a good gift is measured by its usefulness. Likewise, God’s gift to us is to be measured by its USEFULNESS.
What is a useful gift to us? What is a useful gift to you? For someone who loves to write, a laptop might be a useful gift. And for someone who likes music, an MP3 player might be useful. Going back to God’s gift – In 1 John 4:9, God spells out for us the usefulness of the gift he sent – the gift was given “…so we might live.” (MSG) Jesus himself said, “I have come that you may have life in all its fullness.” John 10:10 (paraphrased)
What a promise that is! Not just life – not just existence – but a life that means something – life that has worth and purpose – in short a full life. No longer do we have to wonder aimlessly through life. No longer do we have to take second best or wonder if we’ll ever find ultimate fulfillment. God has freely given us the gift of his Son and He himself tells us that he is a useful gift.
But many Christians never truly appreciate or accept the usefulness of God’s gift to us.
Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840) was a great Italian violinist, possibly one of the best the world has ever seen. Upon his death he willed his fine instrument to his home city of Genoa. But his bequest carried one condition. The violin was never to be played; it would simply be placed on display. But as any serious musician will tell you, that’s not good for a finely crafted stringed instrument. It needs to be used and handled regularly if its beauty and value are to be retained. As a result of Paganini’s request, his marvelous violin has become nothing more than a decaying piece of wood. It is wasting away as a museum piece.
Maybe you have accepted God’s gift, but have put it to one side like that violin. The truth is, God’s gift to us is extremely useful to us. In fact, it’s the most useful gift we will ever be given. Unless of course, we have put it to one side, thereby rendering it useless.
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
December, 2008
Picture by Richard Sweet
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