Best Gifts of All

God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him . JOHN 3:17

 Few things make us happier as a parent than being able to give something to our children that we know they’ll love. Whatever sacrifices we make to reach that point are worth it when we see their surprise and joy. God has gifts for us all the time, but they’re not reserved for our birthday, Christmas, or another special occasion. Some gifts are so small that we might not notice them every day, like a bird’s song or wildflowers along the road. Others are so big that we can’t ignore them, like being spared from a hurricane or tornado’s path or having a perfect but unexpected opportunity fall in our laps.

 The biggest and best gift God has given us is through His Son, Jesus. God sent Jesus to live on earth so people could learn about Him and want to follow Him. The culmination of God’s plan was for Jesus to die on the cross in our place so that we can spend eternity in heaven with God instead of being separated forever.

 Sending Jesus to earth wasn’t an easy thing for God to do, and watching Jesus die on the cross was the worst part of all. We cannot even imagine going through that as a parent. But God did it because of what it would mean in the long run—righteous sons and daughters for eternity. The joy we would have at being invited to live forever in heaven mirrored God's pleasure at giving it to us and made everything worthwhile.
 We know how much it warms our hearts to hear a sincere “thank you” from our children when we give them a special gift. Why don’t we do the same for God today?

 Dear Lord, thank You so much for giving me the best gift of all—knowledge of Your Son, Jesus, and the chance to spend eternity with You in heaven. Help me never take it for granted! Amen.