Tis the season to be shopping! I have found myself inundated with television ads and emails from various retailers who all want me to come to their stores or visit their websites so that I can spend lots of cash or pile up credit card debt in order to obtain these “must haves” for myself and my family. The underlying message is that once I have these new items in my possession all of my issues will fade away as I wallow in wonderful materialistic bliss. Who cares about the problems of the world when you could just pop in a Blu-Ray disc into that new player which is connected to the 50 inch LCD television and let the latest in 1080p resolution numb your aching mind to the pain and suffering we witness on a daily basis. For the sake of complete disclosure let me confess that I do have a Blu-Ray disc player, although my LCD television is not quite 50 inches (sometimes I wish it was).
My point is that even though these items are not inherently evil, they can become addictive idols that ensnare us while there is a real life and world to tend to. When we stop to reflect on the wonderful gifts that God has given us through Jesus Christ, our minds are shaped to the proper perspective of God’s kingdom. In the fifth chapter of Romans there are five gifts that I would like to highlight that we have received through Jesus. I pray that as you read about these gifts God would cause gratitude and generosity to rise in your heart breaking any ungratefulness or materialism that may be lurking. Here we go:
- Forgiveness. Because of Jesus our sins are forgiven. We don’t have to live in guilt and shame because Jesus bore the penalty of our rebellion. Through Jesus we have obtained mercy which means that we don’t get what we do deserve.
- Righteousness. We not only get to enjoy the release from guilt and shame through forgiveness, but we also have been elevated with Jesus to a place of righteousness. We live in a place of honor in the kingdom of God. The bible teaches us that we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. God has written us into His will and we have an inheritance that will not fade away. What a gift!
- Victory. Do you remember the agonizing experience of having to wait until Christmas morning to open your gifts? Talk about an exercise in patience! Here is some good news: You and I can live in victory over sin and death right now. We do not have to wait for heaven in order to taste of the victory that Jesus won on the cross and in His resurrection. There is more to come but I am convinced that we do not fully partake of the wonderful blessings that Jesus has made available on this side of heaven. We get to share in His victory everyday. Excited yet? It gets better…
- New Life. There are no second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. As we are all undeserving recipients of the grace of God, we all share the same favor in salvation. No other believer can look at another and reason that they somehow merit salvation more. Our works are useless in obtaining salvation and the old way of living is obsolete in the kingdom go God. Our past sins are washed away, we have grace and mercy for today, and hope as we look to tomorrow. Do you feel like singing? I do.
- Eternal Life. This is something that blows my mind. My intellect is unable to grasp the implications of eternal life. This is due in part to the fact that I have no choice but to view everything in terms of time and space. My understanding is so limited so terms like eternal life leave me at a loss for words. We will be with our God face to face for ever and ever. No more more pain, suffering, tears, or frustration only the fullness of salvation.
Santa, I don’t know any other way to say this so I am going to just say it: Compared to Jesus you are completely out of your league. I hear that they are hiring at Wal-Mart…
