The world is an extraordinary place. On the one hand, it is beautiful, magnificent, a place of endless wonder, so multifaceted and complex that no reasonable mind could suggest they understand it all. The gifts and blessings that are in your creation are real and wondrous and constantly unfolding before our tiny minds. The gifts just keep on giving.
At the same time, the world is incredibly broken. So many of the gifts you have given us have been overused, overdone, or pulled in directions they were never meant to follow. We have even ignored many of the gifts you have given to help us, preferring our own small-minded solutions to problems too narrowly defined by our tiny brains.
Among the gifts we ignore are the directions for how to live a life in harmony with you. Though the rules are simple, they are immutable. We must love one another. We must love you. We must love ourselves. These are non-negotiable, yet so many ignore or openly defy one, two, or all three.
Lord, you have given us everything. Everything we need to be healthy, happy, and safe. Everything that makes life worth living. And like rambunctious kids on Christmas morning, we have broken our gifts, overused and fought over our gifts, or ignored our gifts. The gifts that you, in your love and care, have selected for us. A combination of things we need and things we want, that both serve and delight us.
If this was happening suddenly, it would be unthinkable. We are suddenly given a beautiful world, with plenty to eat, drink, and do. We suddenly are surrounded by people who love and care about us, and who we care about as well. We suddenly are given meaningful work, focused on each of our unique set of skills and talents.
If all this happened suddenly, could we ignore it? Would we purposely waste, squander, and misuse these gifts? If we did, would we see the sheer lunacy and childishness of it? I think we would.
But we have been at this for a long time. Ever since Adam and Eve, we have messed up perfection. To foul our lives up is part of us. We have sin, which isn’t God’s creation, but the enemy’s. Sin drives all of this. Sin leads us away from the gifts and encourages us to take a few of them and used them for Satan’s evil plans.
So we are irretrievably broken, unable to return to perfection, individually, or as a society. We are polluted by sin to the point where, as a pig loves mud, we love sin. What chance do we have?
We have no chance.
Except…
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
When God sent his beloved Son to be a human being, He did it to save us. It was the only way. If there was another, wouldn’t He spare his Son?
But there was no other way. He sent Jesus to us to teach us how to live, provide us with the tools to make the world better, and as the final and most important of gifts, allowed himself to die for the atonement of our sins.
The enemy, of course, gleefully killed the Son of God. As with all of God’s gifts, it was the enemy who led us to misuse and waste them.
Unlike any of the other gifts we broke, fought over, defiled, or ignored, Jesus defeated death, sin, hopelessness. He rose, proving His holiness, and giving us yet another gift, that of hope, joy, and eternal life. He saved us from Hell.
Did we deserve this? No. Are we able to earn this? No. Not a single one of us is perfect. We all have sinned. Even the best of the best of us. We needed a perfect savior. We needed Jesus Christ. And because God so loved the world, we got Him.
Humankind has yet another gift from God. It is unlike all the others. The salvation that comes through Jesus Christ is there for anyone to take and have. No matter what they’ve done, no matter how they have sinned, they can accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. No strings. All are welcome.
Yet many ignore it. Many misuse it. Many actively oppose it. The rest deny its existence. God has given us this incomparable gift, one that solves our eternal problem, and like His other gifts, many don’t appreciate it.
If you are considering eternity and not liking what you see, it’s probably because you haven’t considered Jesus. He has saved you. All you have to do is accept His gift. Even if you don’t love yourself very much, He loves you more than you can imagine. He gave his life for you.
If this makes sense to you, say a short prayer. Thank Jesus for saving you. Tell Him you don’t understand everything, but you want to learn. But you believe in Him, you believe His promises, and you want to live with Him forever in heaven when your time on earth is through. Offer your prayer in Jesus’ name, and right there where you sit, you are saved. No ceremony, no fanfare, no price to pay.
The gift of salvation is on the table. Simply pick it up. It’s yours.
God bless you.
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