Do you fully appreciate that it is We who are given gifts when we accept Jesus as our personal Lord! It’s true. And do you understand or realize ALL the gifts we are given? Have you unwrapped them in your life? Do you see the riches you have been given? Yes, it starts with salvation – being born again (John 3:3). Our acceptance, acknowledgement assures us of our final destination – heaven. Some people don’t believe in hell, some don’t believe that there is life after death but they are wrong or misguided. This present life isn’t all that there is… there is life after death. Plus there is abundant life available to us… Now!
Sadly, many times, we don’t begin or we postpone our journey of discovery of what ‘being born again’ means in our lives. This will delay our understanding of what marvelous gifts the Lord gives to us when we accept Him. I still find it mind boggling that He would bring us gifts, but He does. I’m still discovering the depth and breadth of those gifts.
One of the more important (my bias) gifts He brings us is Righteousness. There are many other ones but, for me, this is the start of my discovery of all the gifts.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Seek FIRST the kingdom and His righteousness… this was sufficient for me as to my direction in beginning my journey. Yes, there are other gifts, but He wants us to begin with seeking His righteousness.
Righteous means being in right standing with the Father, nothing standing between us. One of the manifestations of this gift of righteousness is that we can be in relationship with the Father. The wall of separation because of our sin is erased because of the cross that Jesus bore for us. There is no conceivable way we can earn, purchase, or attain righteous – but because of Jesus, it is ours. Read again what righteousness purchases for us (2Corinthians 5:17-22). My understanding is that we are ‘made’ righteous in order that we are empowered to become His Ambassadors. And this only begins to scratch the surface of an unending discovery of His righteousness and what we can become and do as a result. Never forget though that it is Faith that is the pathway to righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3, 22 and Galatians 3:6, etc.) Our faith is the beginning of the journey.
Another critical gift is ‘belonging-ness’. We become part of a family. We are adopted and become sons and daughters of the Most High God. We are joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17). We also have a place in the family – we are members of one body (1Corinthians 12). Verse 18 – “But now God has set the members, each one of then, in the body just as He pleased.” To me this means that we have a role, a part, a responsibility that is important to the effective working of the body. This says that we have a meaningful life full of purpose.
There are many other gifts that Jesus brings to us when we accept Him as Lord, but there is only one gift we have to give Jesus when we accept His Lordship. But, though it is only one, it is the only one He wants. That gift of ours is us. But that’s all He asks for. When we do and then open the gifts He’s given, we become an enhanced and empowered who we are in order to be and do effectively in the world in which we live.
Did I mention that there are responsibilities that come with the gifts? There are. But just like opening the gifts, accepting our responsibility seems to also to be our choice. We also grow in understanding, appreciation, and the other attendant aspects… at our own pace. We are constantly becoming so that what we DO has a solid foundation and isn’t shifting sand. We are provided with armor (Ephesians 6) to become His strong Ambassador to the world in which we live. Remember though, seek the Giver not the gifts.
