Merry Christmas Life-Speak Family!
The greatest expression of love is giving! I know this seems like a grand statement and has the potential to rub people the wrong way, but it is the truth. Let’s look at our example:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
– John 3:16 (KJV)
This is one of the first verses you learn in Sunday school and the cornerstone of our beliefs. And it is all centered around two things: giving, and the reason why He gave. Last week I mentioned to you all about a heart check I experienced with the Lord while buying gifts for my friends and family, and now I wanted to share the other side of the same coin, and it’s the action of giving. Before we can understand the weight of what God gave us and how we can seek to echo our Heavenly Father’s love to those closest to us, we have to understand Who Jesus is.
There is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and The Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of God. This idea of the Trinity, that they are all God, and that they are all one but separate has confused so many over the years, but the truth is, it’s quite simple. The easiest way I can explain it is like this, an apple has three parts, the skin, the core, and the juicy part. The core has seeds, the texture is different, it has a stem coming out of it, and doesn’t taste good to eat it. Its role however is to provide nutrients to the rest of the apple. The juicy innards, taste great, very edible, and it has a different consistency and appearance, then the rest of the apple. The skin of the apple has multiple functions too, it protects the inside, it has different colors on it, and it has a different taste and texture from the rest of the apple. They all are different in so many ways, they all perform a function within the apple, but they are all part of the apple. They are all apple. You don’t say that you are craving the skin and innards of an apple, you say you want an apple. The same thing is true with God, each part of the Trinity, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have their own characteristics, personalities, and functions but they are all God, they are all part of the same existing being known as God.
This is so important to understand, because I believe it gives new meaning to John 3:16 for us. Not only is Jesus viewed as God’s only beloved and dear Son, but He is also a part of God. When God gave us Jesus, He didn’t just give His only Son, but He also gave us a piece of Himself.
During this Christmas season the spirit of generosity is in the air. As I am writing this, I just got back from the store buying some last-minute stocking stuffers for the family and was stunned by the thousands of people flooding the stores, filling up their carts with fun treats, and gifts to share with their friends and family. It was a beautiful sight to be honest. Of course, many of them looked very stressed and tired, with children hanging all over them, but I still found joy in the overwhelming display of generosity on a mass scale. Though the idea of giving gifts to people is wonderful, and I think it can be a powerful display of affection, there is another type of gift that many of us have withheld. It’s the gift of me, and the gift of you. It’s giving a piece of yourself as God did. This looks different for each individual. It may be for you to stop everything you are doing and sit down with your kids and play with them, love them, hear their thoughts, and make it a point to put any scolding on the back shelf and for them to know that outside your spouse and God, nothing is more important to you then them. It may be going out alone with your spouse and sharing your most intimate thoughts, concerns, ideas, and all the love you can muster. It may be to let go of all the bitterness and hate you have for the family members who have done you wrong. You don’t have to put yourself in a position to be hurt by them again, but you can choose to love them even if you can’t trust them. Choose to forgive them. The act of generosity is so powerful, especially when you’re giving as God did, a piece of who you are. And to be honest with you, they may laugh at you, they may try to hurt you again, they might blame you, they might throw the gift of you right back in your face, but if they do, though it may be hurtful, give it anyways knowing you are in good company. God gave a piece of himself, opened His heart up to all of us, and even went to the furthest extent by trying to adopt us into His family. And yet so many have thrown His gift back at Him, laughed, mocked, sneered, made fun of, and spit upon His gift, but knowing that there would be that chance, He also knew there would be a chance that all the pain and hurt that we were experiencing could be wiped away, and a beautiful new relationship would develop as we become His kids, and He our Father, so He dared to give of Himself anyways. So even if you don’t have all the money that you wish so that you could give, you do have something to give that is so much more valuable. Exactly what that is for you, only you and God know. So, I encourage you to search your heart and see where you can begin to do as God did, and give of yourself.
I feel like the Lord lead me to end all my posts with this simple reminder: God bless you all, I hope you know I pray over my readers. If you don’t have anyone in your life praying for you, then know that if nothing else you have me in your corner. I’m praying for you. We are all in this thing called life together, and no one needs to go at it alone. So feel free to reach out to me if you have a personal prayer request, also if you know someone who would like to be a part of our community, then let them know about the blog so we can all connect with our God and walk through life together as brothers and sisters! Love you all. -Jake
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