Jesus Christ, the Gift!

“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” (John 3:16-21)

Don’t we love to receive gifts, especially from family members or people we are close to? Many of us do. I am not a gift hoarder or any material hoarder, but I love to receive whatever is necessary and may contribute to my passion and learning. For example, when my mother bought an iPad Air Two and a sim card for me, I was very thankful. It is not because I got the latest edition of an iPad, but it is like my portable contacting device as I can text and do internet through it. I love to receive Christian books from my mentor because they develop my knowledge of Jesus Christ. However, what we desire the most probably is the compassion of the giver. They want best for me and to nurture me to become a better man, and I love about them.

God is the Creator of the Universe, but He is also our Heavenly Father (Ephesians 4:6). As He has been the Creator and although every people come from mother’s womb, He has actually made us (Genesis 1:26-27). How big His love would be if He has made us? Imagine that we are creating a treehouse to play in with our friends. We play in it so often, that we eventually love it and want nothing happen to it. But how more magnificent God’s love would be if He put father’s characteristic on? My father loves me so much, that he always apologised to me in the nights if I had been told off by him. Apparently, all of us have been fallen from the belief in God and His Kingdom through the first man of God (Genesis 3). Romans 5:12-14 states that what he did brought death. In order to bring us back, He sacrificially had to send Jesus Christ into the earth to die for our penalties. When Jesus was crucified, “… the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom…” (Matthew 27:51). This means that the gate of the heaven has been opened (Matthew 27:51-53). Craig Keener declares that God has opened where His presence dwells for everyone, instead of just priests. Therefore, since God has His steadfast love for us consistently and God has allowed all of us to be in His presence, let’s consider Jesus Christ as the greatest gift ever (James 1:16-18)!

Meditate on Psalm 136 and be grateful of what Jesus has done for you today, because of His great love!