Our One True Gift

For years I reveled in God’s blessings. I soaked up the gifts that He showered over me. From the simple things, to the big things, I always had a way of spotting His gifts.

Over time, however, I started to act like a little kid in a toy store. Whatever I got, it wasn’t enough. I always wanted more. I’d receive His newest blessing and quickly say, “…but God {insert whiney voice here}…I want that too…”. Like a drug, I couldn’t get enough. Like a spoiled brat, I wanted more.

Not only had I lost track of the fact that as a fallen human I didn’t deserve any of His gifts apart from Christ, but I too started to serve those gifts as if they were my god.

One morning as I prayed for more blessings, asking Him to bring me some grand gift, I heard Him whisper softly into my spirit. His words were kind and gentle, not harsh. He spoke in a whispered tone that reverberated through my spirit saying,

You love my gifts more then me.

It hit me hard. HARD. I knew He was right. I had begun to love His gifts more than Him, the very Giver of those gifts.

I started to think about what that meant, how that looked to Him. It was as if my nephew loved the Legos I got him for his birthday more than me. That thought brought tears to my eyes, even now, the tears well up. Not the thought of my nephew loving his Legos more, but the thought that I paid more attention to my Legos then to God. I loved the gifts He gave me, I worshiped those gifts, more than Him. And any attempt I made to hide that from Him were lost, He knows my heart, He sees where my true treasure is.

It was as if I was blind and now all of a sudden the scales were removed from my eyes and I could see. Apart from Him these blessings meant nothing. Apart from Him, these gifts had no eternal impact, no eternal worth.

This life is our one opportunity to grow close to the One and Only. No gift that He’s given us will impact our eternal lives and legacy more then the gift of Himself. He is the true gift, He is the one true gift. He is what our hearts long for, hope for, yearn for, churn for. Apart from Him, all those other gifts don’t really matter, they are fleeting.

Yes, we are called to praise Him and thank Him as He lay gifts upon us each day; from the sun shining in our window, to the Starbuck’s card we find in our purse, to the safe travels He gave us on our road trip. They are all gifts and blessings and worthy of praise lifted high from our lips. But in the midst of thanking Him for all the little things, let us not forget to thank Him for the greatest gift of all – Himself, our One and Only.

Let’s not continue to love our Legos more than the Giver. His gifts are sweet, but nothing compares to the sweetness of recognizing Him as the greatest gift of all.