What are God’s greatest gifts?

The Bible talks about many gifts that are given to all people.  They are described as gifts that go way beyond description.  Many essential truths associated with the treasures of heaven go well beyond human reason.  For this reason, Jesus used parables to help us grasp the depth of God’s love and the riches in store throughout the kingdom of heaven.  Even utilizing the word gift does not adequately describe the treasures that await those who place their trust in God, because associated with these gifts not only bring a depth of joy, but also sets a person free.  What could these gifts be?

The Bible talks about two primary gifts that could be considered his greatest gifts to all mankind.  They are the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The forgiveness of sins can be considered one of God’s greatest gifts, because the result is being in God’s presence forever in heaven.  And it’s the Holy Spirit so we may receive the Truth and be preserved in the Truth.  To imagine that both of these are considered gifts is what makes it truly indescribable (2 Cor. 9:15) and incomparable (Eph. 2:8).

Think about the word “gift” for a moment.  In its purest sense, presenting a gift is prompted by love, appreciation, or even admiration.  So, the act of giving a gift in its purest form means that nothing is expected in return except for a simple thank you or words of appreciation.

With this understanding, let’s apply the purest form of giving a gift to help us understand God’s greatest gifts to us — the forgiveness of sins.

Extending forgiveness is a gift in of itself.  For instance, we are told to forgive others.  It’s one of those indescribable gifts that we extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us, even though many times that person doesn’t deserve it nor even asked for it.  Forgiveness is a gift that we extend to another person.  However, in the power of extending forgiveness, we are the primary beneficiary.  For in that act of forgiveness, we bury resentment and bitterness and receive peace in its place.  But again, what prompts us to forgive?  It is love.  Love prompts us to forgive, because its love that fulfills the law and obeys the command given to us to forgive others.  The act of forgiveness, prompted by love, is not following a law or a command, but an act of love.  Even the Apostle Peter requested a law for forgiveness.  He asked Jesus, “Should I forgive seven times?”  “No,” Jesus answered, “but seventy-seven times.”  Something thought possible by Peter was deemed impossible.  If there was a law associated with forgiveness than it would be impossible to fulfill, because only love fulfills the law — not our actions.

It was love that prompted Christ to die on the cross and by so doing, fulfill the law.

The Apostle Paul mentions how easy it is to lay down your life for a friend.  However, how difficult would it be to lay down your life for someone who is undeserving, unworthy, or unrepentant? By their own words and actions, they would disqualify themselves from receiving any type of gift — whether it’s sacrificing one’s life or even extending forgiveness. For these reason, God’s love is described as incomparable.  It is a love that stretches beyond direction — as far as the east is from the west.  It is a love that is unfathomable because it goes beyond the depth of our understanding.  So much so, that God’s forgiveness even extends to the unworthy.

Forgiveness is a gift.  Grace is a gift.  All made possible by an act of love that carried Christ to the cross.  In that one act, forgiveness is extended to all people.

Next post will carry this thought further as we attempt to describe how a person receives ownership of God’s grace.

If Martin Luther was Italian.

Can you imagine what the church might look like today if Martin Luther were Italian?

Growing up in a northern European culture and part of the Lutheran tradition, great pain was taken to show no pain, reserve was a virtue, and emotion was only expressed at appropriate times.  This must have been carried over into the practice and traditions of Lutheranism, but not necessarily the theology.  Faith alone and grace alone was a hallmark of the great hymns that Luther and the other great reformers wrote.  In the backdrop of the Catholic church at that time, the words resonated freedom from the chains of theological oppression.  That was true emotion!  Over time, the extraordinary became ordinary and culture may have seeped into the practice of the church.  Emotional expressions during a time of corporate worship was frowned upon, even considered inappropriate, because the seriousness of our sins.  How else can we come before God without forgiveness and grace and what the reformation truths trumpeted?  The fact that we are sinners in need of grace and forgiveness was the focal point in liturgical song and expression.  Somberness was the reflection of our praise — and something that our northern European heritage could more easily grasp.

The fact that we are sinners and in need of forgiveness is certainly a Biblical truth, but is it the focal point of Paul’s letters and the other epistles of the New Testament.  Is the dourness and sorrow associated with hymns sung in minor keys a true reflection of what Christ desires from his saints?  If Martin Luther were Italian, would he reflect more on the sorrow over sin or the joy of the resurrection?  Would there be an emphasis on lent in Lutheranism or six weeks of post-Easter celebration?  If a person is culturally bent toward expressing emotion, then possibly the practice of readily expressing triumphant joy would be a predominant form of religious expression and worship.

Perhaps as a person who grew up in a northern European culture in America, it was much easier for us to express sorrow over sin rather than joy over victory of what Christ has done.  Perhaps because I was taught that to relish over victory would not be an expression of humility.  Maybe even prideful.  And being in the culture of Norwegian fisherman, gloating over a  victorious catch and a safe arrival home from the sea would be considered unlucky.  Perhaps that approach was reflected in our worship together.  As a result, it seems that most Christians have a tendency to view themselves more as sinner rather than saints.

But that is not what the Bible teaches.

Outside of brothers, what word is used the most throughout the New Testament to describe Christians?  Sinners?  Never.  Only when Paul and Peter refer to themselves.  Over one hundred and fifty times, Christian believers are referred to as “righteous”.  And that is an amazing term!  Christian believers are referred to as being right with God.  They are perfect.  Their status is considered freely and fully forgiven.  Right now.  All because of what Christ has already done for us.

Isn’t that an amazing message to share with others?  Isn’t that an amazing thought to carry with us throughout the day?

I agree.  It’s fun and humorous to think of what the church may be like today if Luther were Italian.  I wonder what my church experience may have been like as a child growing up in a different culture?  How would that have reflected upon my view of God, the role of Christ and who he truly is, and my own status as a Christian believer.

Why God rested on the seventh day

Six days.  That’s all it took.  Crafted from hands that knew no measure or time, earth was birthed from the heavens and life began.  The Creation account cannot be fathomed by mortal minds, but only grasped in awe and through breath-taking glimpses of mountain landscapes, flowery meadows and the intricacies of the human brain.  Earth as we know it is truly a living masterpiece of artistic and scientific wonder.

There is one aspect of God’s creation that causes me the most wonder these days.  It has to do with the fact on what happened on the seventh day of creation.  A day God rested.

God who shaped mountains, caused oceans to expand, and created life, is the same God who desired rest.  Was he weary from his work?  Did fatigue set in?  Or, did God want to set an example for all people that rest is not only important, but a solemn action of praise and worship.  I am being led to believe that there may be a different reason for God resting on the seventh day — and it has little to do with physical rest.

God created man in his own image and it was good.  To complete his creation, God gave the gift of a physical world.  After the sixth day, there was nothing more to do.  Everything was complete.  Man did not have to do anything to help finish what God had already done.  All man had to do was simply accept God’s gift and be who God designed him to be.  True rest only comes as a by-product of completion.  Because with rest, there is a sense contentment and accomplishment that grants you peace.  And so it was with God’s creation.

But could there be something more?

Was earth and its physical reality created to be a permanent fixture?  Or, was the original intent and design to be a temporary dwelling with something far greater in mind that would surpass the original creation, plus ultimately defeat evil that encompassed the earthly realm?  Was this simply a plan to give mortal man ultimate rest?

There are clues throughout the Old Testament of God’s ultimate design for mankind to complete him in his own image.  God provided a picture of what was to come and gave promises for his people to trust in that it will be done.  There was the promised land set apart for his people.  There was the lamb without blemish to be sacrificed at the altar.  These were present blessings that was pointing to a far greater reality that was yet to come.

God used the temporal of this world to point to something far greater — a spiritual world to be absorbed completely by true rest and peace by being in the eternal and conscious presence of God — the Father, the Alpha and Omega, the Creator , the great I AM.

Could it ultimately be that God used the picture of the Sabbath, the seventh day rest of Creation, to point to that Sabbath rest between Good Friday and Easter?

When Jesus died on the cross, the Lamb without blemish was sacrificed for the sins of this world.  Evil was vanquished.  The work of salvation was finished.  Man did not have to do anything else to add on to what was already completed.  Faith accepts this act completed on our behalf.  Like any perfect gift, we receive it gladly and utilize it for our benefit and joy.  We rest in the knowledge that everything has been done.  And in the meantime, we wait.  The temporal will become eternal.  The beginning will come to an end.   A new heaven and a new earth will be the next reality.

Perhaps this is the Sabbath rest that God painted for us from the beginning when he rested on the seventh day.  God wants us to know that spiritual rest is what’s most important.  God never rests, because He is Spirit.  Our rest today comes from the status faith receives by trusting in God’s completed work in Christ Jesus.  When that status, that inheritance, that promised citizenship becomes a reality — that will be an eternal rest that is as breathtaking as that mountain landscape we see in the distance, that sweet aroma of a mountain meadow, those minute intricacies of the human brain.  It is a rest we simply cannot fathom right now, but trust the portrait God has provided for us.