Do you like receiving gifts? Do you like giving gifts? Have you considered that gift giving can become transactional? Are you concerned about giving a gift to someone so that your gift is comparable in value as a gift they have given you?
Gift giving has become complicated in our society. We spend a lot of time considering what gift to give. Often, we consider the price as it compares to the gifts we have received. We may not even consciously think about it. It’s just there in our subconscious mind.
We have been offered a gift that we can never match. Though we are all condemned to death because of Adam’s sin, Christ has given us the gift of righteousness. Since He overcame death, we are no longer condemned to death but have received life. Because we have received life in Jesus Christ, we are set free.
We often worry about death. We may hear or say that living is better than the alternative. Yet, if we are in Christ, the alternative is eternal life with Him. Do we really consider this life better than that? If we do, we don’t fully comprehend the gift we have received. That is not to say we should seek physical death, but we also should not fear it.
The gift Christ has given us comes through the grace of God. That grace is boundless and inexhaustible. The forgiveness we have through his grace in the life of Christ is why we are righteous.
I pray we all accept the gift God has given us. I pray we know we can never repay God for his gift. I pray each one of us knows we are righteous because of Christ and God’s amazing grace. Accept God’s gift. Know you are righteous. Trust God’s amazing grace. Thank God for his gracious gift.
Romans 5:17: If, because of the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Marty Pressey 