Good morning to you my precious family
2 Corinthians 9 verse 15 says “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
Many people dream of winning the Lotto because, for them, that sum of money means they are free from the slavery of having to pay bills and their debts. When you no longer have to think about whether or not you can afford something, you are truly “free”, right?
The odds of winning the Lotto are slim, but as believers there is one gift that you and I have already received that is even more unbelievable.
Each day we receive many blessings from our God which include family, health, food, warmth, shelter, but we need to think of His greatest blessing – our Lord Jesus Christ.
We can almost imagine the apostle Paul jumping up and down on the doorstep of his home, shouting “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” When God gave us the gift of Himself in the Lord Jesus, He gave us a storehouse in which are contained treasures of truth which can never be fully comprehended, and which, even if comprehended, can never be exhausted.
When we grasp the incredible gift of God in Jesus Christ’s paying for our sins, we will find the reason to jump up and down for joy. Our list of sins before a holy God has caused a debt that is exponentially bigger than all of the world’s financial debt combined – and there is no way that you or I can pay it off. Without hope, we are faced with an eternity of punishment apart from God, the only One who can give us hope, purpose, or joy.
Yet, when we didn’t even ask for Him, our Lord Jesus came and lived the perfect life we were supposed to live and died the death for sin that we deserved. When we placed our faith in Him, all of His righteousness and freedom is given to us. All of our debts are forgotten – forever! What an amazing gift we have received.
If you won millions of rands unexpectedly, you would surely tell every person you ran into about this incredible gift. How much more should we share this amazing gift of forgiveness we have received from God our Father?
Paul, who had an extensive vocabulary, discovers as he comes to write to the Corinthians that he cannot find words that are adequate to describe his gratitude to God for sending His Son to be our Saviour. The Living Bible calls it “His gift too wonderful for words”.
So, when we think of reasons to give thanks, we must think of this above everything else: God gave His Son for us in order to save us from hell and bring us to heaven.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. The love is the cause of the gift: the gift is the expression of the love. So in verse 15 Paul here uses related words for indescribable or unspeakable which might be rendered ‘that which cannot be fully declared.’
Reflect on this for a few moments as to what life would be like without God’s gift of our Lord Jesus Christ. I warn you, it would be a dark picture. Every good thing in our lives has come from God. And these good things are simply smaller gifts from the One who gave us the supreme gift, our Lord Jesus Himself.
Think especially of our Father God sending His Son into the world to be our Saviour.
At Christmas time millions hear our Lord’s name mentioned in carols and hymns, Christmas plays, yet they ignore His claims, deny His authority and fail to acknowledge Him as God’s indescribable gift. As believers we can be wiser than them. We can give thanks to God for friends, loved ones, children, parents, but we need to remember to thank God each day above all else for His “gift too wonderful for words”.
The worst moment for an atheist is when he feels thankful for some mercy, but has no-one to thank. We are not like that as we have the wonderful privilege to know the One “from whom all blessings flow” Continue to give Him thanks. He is worthy of all praise.
Prayer
Lord our God and heavenly Father, thanks be to You for Your indescribable gift! I am so thankful for the life that I now have in our Lord Jesus Christ that I am unable to truly put words to my gratitude – like Paul, it is indescribable! I cannot imagine my life without You Lord Jesus. I give my thanks to You today and always, and I confess and repent of the times I have lived without giving You thanks. Help me to live a life of thanksgiving and to show others that You are Lord of my life. Help me to take this good news of the gospel to those who are still living in sin and slavery. Help me to bring glory to Your name through the way I share the gospel. In Your precious name Lord Jesus. Amen
Much love from Maurice and Margaret
