Perfect Gifts

Do you like to receive gifts? Do you like to give gifts? Do you spend a lot of time trying to pick out the perfect gift? Do you often exceed your budget for gift buying? Do you set a budget? Do you know where every perfect gift comes from?

No, it does not come from Amazon nor Temu nor any department store. It is not a handmade gift, though those tend to mean a lot to us. No matter how hard we try, we cannot make the perfect gift, even using machines that are very precise.

James is a man of concise writing, using few words, but packing a lot of meaning in them. He tells us every perfect gift comes from God. We might agree with that intellectually. But do we understand that in our hearts? We always fall short of perfection, but God is always perfect.

As someone with a Type A personality, I have always strived for perfection. As I have gotten older, I have learned to let things go as “good enough.” Through many hours of toiling, I have come to realize I cannot be perfect. It came to me the hard way. It came through failure. It came to me as I read God’s Word and spent time meditating on it. In other words, it came through experience and maturity.

James uses light as his analogy. God is the Father of lights with no variation. Even that is challenging for us. We see a multitude of light colors and variations. Yet, God’s light is perfect and dispels darkness. Have you noticed light travels in all directions? The sun does not need to shine directly in your window for light to come into your house. Think about that a moment and think about the implications of God being the perfect light. He dispels all darkness from all directions.

I pray we all know where perfect gifts come from. I pray we give God the credit due him for his perfect gifts. I pray each one of us allow the light of God dispel the darkness within us. God gives perfect gifts. Give God the credit. Know light dispels darkness. Allow God’s light to dispel the darkness in you.

James 1:17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.