The Unopened Gift

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift

On my dresser sets a small package, gift-wrapped in Christmas paper, and with it, a red envelope with my name on it.  They don’t look out of place now with Christmas just around the corner, but they hadn’t seemed to belong there during the past 6 months.

They were given to me by a friend at a retreat we were both attending in the spring.  Embarrassed, she handed them to me with the explanation that it was a thank you gift for my being the guest speaker at a ladies’ event at her church last Christmas. She had forgotten to give it to me that day.

Back home after the event, she set it on her kitchen counter with the intention of mailing it to me. She kept forgetting it as the days went by, until her granddaughters questioned her about it, it and she decided to put it away until after the holidays.

The longer it went, the more embarrassed she became until she finally decided to give it to me in person, along with an apology. I assured her I was capable of doing something similar. We hugged and shared a chuckle about our poor memories.

Back in the hotel room, I tucked the package and card into my suitcase where I forgot about them until I was unpacking at home.  Taking them out, I set them on the dresser with the idea of opening them the next day.  But the next day and over the next several months, each time I picked up the package to open it, I decided to save it for a day when I needed a pick-me-up.  So there it had set, a colorful reminder that I was appreciated.

This incident reminds me of the Bible, God’s love letter to us earthlings.  In it are passages that tell of His love:

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

(John 3:16);

Of how to be born into a familial relationship with Him:

As many as received Him, to them He gave the right

 to become children of God, to those who believe in His name 

Of how to find strength to face decisions and challenges of daily life:

 I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand 

(Isaiah 41:10);

And how to have confidence in the future:

I give them eternal life and they shall never perish;

 neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 

My father Who has given them to Me, is greater than all;

 and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand 

(John 10:28-29).

Many other wonderful gifts are promised in His Word; gifts far more precious and lasting than anything available from earthly sources.  But, like my little unopened gift, we must open the pages of the Bible to learn of them and claim them for ourselves. What a shame that so often we fail to do so.

                            Lord, lead us to Your precious Word that’s laying on the shelf,

                            that we may find our strength in You rather than in self.      

                            Teach us from the truths we’ll find waiting there to see,

                            that we might live the way You choose -- strong, joyful, and free.