Do you realize the gift you have? Have you taken time to evaluate what has been given to you and for you? Are you appreciative of the gift? How appreciative? How do you show your appreciation?
We have been given a gift beyond what the riches of this world can buy. Unfortunately, we either do not realize just how precious this gift is or we do not fully appreciate it. Perhaps it is a bit of both.
Think about it for just a moment. Maybe this illustration will help us grasp the enormity of it. The Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox had waited decades to win a World Series championship. The Cubs waited 107 years. The White Sox waited 87 years. The Red Sox waited 85 years. There were very few people alive when they finally won who had seen or experienced their last World Series championship.
The prophets of the Old Testament were prophesying about the coming of the Messiah. Neither they nor anyone else alive at the time of their prophecy was alive when He finally came. The prophecies were between 400 and 1,000 years before Jesus was born. Talk about a long wait!
Notice in today’s passage that it was not only the prophets who longed to see the coming of the Messiah. The angels in heaven also longed to see His coming. Why? It was a significant step in God’s plan. It was the step that would redeem the world. It was a step that provided a pathway to spending eternity with God. We now live in that redemption. We now reap the benefits of God having sent His Son to be our Savior. It would please God if we truly appreciated what He did for us.
I pray we all realize just how precious the gift of God is. I pray we understand how long the wait was for Jesus to come. I pray each one of us wait now with anticipation of His coming again. Comprehend the enormity of God’s gift. Be very appreciative of it. Show God your appreciation every day. Give God the glory.
1 Peter 1:10-12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Marty Pressey 