Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
John 4:10
Gifts and excitement go together – or at least they do if the gift is done right. Anticipation is a key element. Wrapping paper and ribbon turn an ordinary object into a present. Secrecy adds suspense, and that makes it special.
What distinguishes the best gifts from the ordinary ones is the love, thoughtfulness, and effort that go into choosing them. The giver somehow knows what you desire or need when you yourself don’t. It is carefully selected with you in mind, and that makes the gift personal.
The really great gifts you can’t afford for yourself. Window shoppers do it all the time; they look at things they could never really afford and imagine what it would be like to have one of their very own. Every so often, it actually happens: Someone gets you that thing you wanted so much but always dismissed as unattainable.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…” (James 1:17). God knows a lot more about gift-giving than people do. Heaven buzzed with fervent expectancy for hundreds of years before the Gift of God was finally given. Prophets dropped hints about this perfect gift, but no one guessed what it really was.
“The gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Sinners need a Savior, and this sinful world was clueless about it. People wanted to go to heaven but couldn’t get there because sinners can’t get in. Jesus gives us what we want and need. He makes us new creations; the old, bad stuff is all gone; everything is fresh and new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Our salvation cost more than anyone on earth could ever afford “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold … but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19).
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).
June 7
