The Gifts That Really Count
Bible Reading: Matthew 6:25-33
Your heavenly Father ... will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. Matthew 6:32-33
THIS YEAR you played it smart. You wanted to make sure everything you received was the right size and color, so your Christmas list was short and sweet. It looked something like this:
- a gift certificate to my favorite clothing store
- a gift certificate to my favorite music store
- a gift certificate to my favorite computer and software store
- a gift certificate to my favorite video store
- a five-pound box of money
But as you sit surveying your opened gifts, you are seriously depressed. All your hopes and dreams for Christmas have turned into a nightmare.
- Your dad gave you a complete bowling outfit—ball, bag, shoes, and two brightly colored bowling shirts. You don’t even bowl.
- Mom bought you a cello and a series of instructional videos. But you’re tone-deaf.
- Your grandmother gave you another pair of polka-dotted flannel pajamas your—sixth pair in six years—which are two sizes too small.
- Dear Uncle Smedley gave you a year’s subscription to Exceptional Student magazine and promised you fifty cents for every A you get this year.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad. But you probably didn’t get everything you wanted for Christmas, did you? Unrealized expectations are something all of us have to deal with.
But God has a gift for you that you won’t want to return. In Matthew 6:25-33, God promised to provide everything you need for the coming year. It might be difficult to admit you can survive without that five-pound box of money, but somehow you’ll make it. In the meantime, God knows your real needs—spiritual, relational, emotional, and material—even those you aren’t aware of. And he loves you so much that he will make sure you never lack those things. Your task is to continue living for him and watching him fill your life with his absolute best.
REFLECT: What kind of gifts are you looking for God to give you? Are you looking for his best?
PRAY: Talk to God about your disappointments about stuff—and set your heart on things that count.