Deeper Dive
God the Giver

Have you taken the time to think, really think about what you want  to receive in light of eternity or what do you need for Infinite God? Would you be surprised that the words “God gave” occur more than 150 times through the Bible? From giving the ability to occupy the land He promised Abraham, to giving Solomon the wisdom to effectively lead the nation, to giving the ability to four young men to learn the skills to lead and then “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”¹, we have the record of God giving what was needed to those who would receive. Jesus’s half brother James reminds us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”²

It would be negligent of me to not include that God will also give us what we insist upon even if it is not His good desire for us. “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”³ As much as God has made provision for us to be in agreement and relationship with Him, if we insist upon going our own way, of having what we desire irrespective of what He knows is best for us in relation with Him, He will ‘give’ you the ability to receive not only what you want but the responsibility for the consequences. Later in Romans, it is recorded of those who believe they know better than God knows, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”⁴ He let them have what they insisted they needed. Rather sobering thought.

We need to remember and believe that ‘every good gift, every perfect gift comes down from God, that He is the only source of what is in reality worthy of receiving. Too often we crave the temporary and miss out the eternal, settle for that which is passing away rather than holding on to that which has eternal values.

Not all that glitters is worth holding onto: Revelation 21:18, 21, “The wall was built of jasper while the city was pure gold like clear glass… and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”⁵ Not that it has no value but gold becomes the common building material, not something to be clutched in the grip.

We have a tendency to want to grasp, hold tightly that of value but it is not so with God. “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.”⁶ God’s most valuable gift, Jesus, is to be passed on, not held away from others also in need of God’s gift. Jesus reminded His disciples, “You received without paying; give without pay.”⁷