God is the Greatest Giver
Acts 11:17
At this time of the year there is a lot of talk about giving. I was listening to a talk show on the radio the other day and the topics that were mentioned was focused on this subject. How much and how often should you give to the Salvation Army with the bell ringers and the hanging pots? What to get your wife for Christmas? Whether to shop on the Internet or buy in person? All about give give give. For the most part people at this time of the year want to make sure that they give the best present they can. So for the last minute Christmas shoppers, let’s spend the next few minutes and learn from the example of the greatest giver of all. GOD
God started the giving
The Bible tells us that in the beginning God…God started the giving by not only creating us, but also everything.
Genesis 1:29-31 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it will be for food. Also to every beast of the earth, to every bird in the air and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food’; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God gave us everything and He didn’t just say it’s good, He said it was VERY good. So what God gave us was all good, and any bad that we have in this world is a result of our own mistakes. God gives us everything. It’s all His money. Your name may be on the deed of the house or the title of the car. But God gives it all to you. Not only did God start the giving but …
What God gives is eternal
He is no Indian giver. The things we receive here will tear up, they will rust, they will fade, and they will not last forever. But Jesus told the woman who was at the well in John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but who ever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life”.
God wants nothing but the best for us. He wants us to have joy. Not just some of the time, but all the time. He wants us to have peace. His will is nothing but the best for us. And what He gives us has no expiration date on it; it is eternal. And then…
What God gave was the ultimate
He gave the ultimate gift. He gave His Son.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Now being a father, this is hard for me to fathom. I have two boys of my own and as much as I love you all dearly if someone came in here with a gun and said, “I either am going to kill everyone of the people here or I will just kill one of your sons. I would have to say bye to all of you. I couldn’t do it.
But God gave His only Son, not just for the good people. Not just for the ones who in your minds would deserve it. But as the Bible says, “WHO EVER”. He died for everyone. He died for that mean neighbor down the street. He died for that inmate on death row. He died for Sodom Hussein and Ben Laden. Now not throwing the Trinity in here, but the Bible says that the He cried out to His Father who was in heaven. Jesus said when Peter took out his sword when they came to arrest Him in the garden to put the sword away. That He could pray to His Father and God gave Him 10,000 angles to take away this sacrifice. But God gave His only Son. Not just for me and not just for you, but for everybody.
Many of you remember the time that I took my then 12 year old son white water rafting and how the boat got flipped on a class V rapid and how I can remember when the current had me under that water and how I thought I was going to drown that all I could think about was this. If I was suffering this much, how much more was a son suffering. And it was me who put him in that situation.
But God willingly gave His Son. He knew what was going to happen to Him. He knew that He would be rejected, beaten, and nailed to a cross and hang there and face the most brutal punishment that was known to man; Death by crucifixion. So God gave the ultimate gift. And finally…
God gives judgment
We talked about the giving of God, being started by Him, by what He gives being eternal. By Him giving the ultimate sacrifice of His own Son. But God also gives judgment. And He alone is the only one who has the right to.
Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
So are you ready for that judgment? You can be today. Let’s pray.
