Good Tuesday morning! Praise the Lord for the new day! Yesterday we pondered how much we might have in this life; but what happens when it is suddenly gone? What if you find yourself in need? Have you ever tried to share with someone in need and been turned down? It does happen. Any of us can become a prisoner of pride whether we are wealthy or poor. Accepting a handout gracefully and with thanksgiving to God can be difficult or impossible for some of us when pride is in control. Yes, it may seem a bit odd that we take for granted all that God has done for us, and at the same time have too much pride to accept a gift in our need. Pride, of course, fails to acknowledge all that God has created and provided in the first place.
We know in the Holy Spirit that no matter how much we have in this life, we cannot earn eternal life. We must gracefully and thankfully accept salvation from our Lord Jesus in order to even begin the Christian life. Along the way, God may teach us how to accept gifts and handouts in our need. We think the difficult part is learning to give and share, and certainly that can be difficult, but learning to accept gifts may prove the more difficult experience in this life. Any or all of us might suddenly find ourselves in a needy situation.
Look at any disaster in the news; someone will have lost all their material possessions. We rush to give in their need, assuming that the gifts will be gratefully and humbly accepted. That may not happen, or the gifts may be accepted without the gratitude that should accompany the acceptance. Hearts can remain hard without the grace that comes from Jesus. The season of giving comes up very soon, right after that day of thanksgiving actually, but we need to remember that our gratitude should pour out with every gift we receive. What is the most difficult gift to accept? In my experience, it is the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
Yup, what might be seen as an easy gift to accept has in fact proven quite difficult. Many of us run into that difficulty in our Christian life. "I'm too sinful to be forgiven" or "That sin is too bad for God to forget about!" You may not have experienced this problem; not every Christian faces the same trials. The grateful and graceful acceptance of Christ's perfect forgiveness has often given me trouble as I look at the sin and my capacity to do it again, instead of God's love and forgiveness in Christ. Accepting the gift, with grace and gratitude, is something we must learn. The gift may come from God, or through our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you find yourself trying to say "no", do a pride check and remember that your grateful acceptance will bestow a blessing on the giver.
Give someone the gift of your prayers today!
Bucky
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