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It is no secret that God has storehouses full of gifts for his children. The God who spoke creation into existence and breathed oxygen into the first man still has the ability to provide good jobs, fine homes, luxury cars, and cabinets overflowing with food. One attribute that defines God is His desire to give.

What has God given you? The home, the career, the car, and even the family that God has given you, is not more important than the gift of God’s only son. Through the death of His son we are able to live a life eternal in heaven, without fear. Unfortunately, sometimes we place more value on gifts that we can see and touch rather than the gift of God’s son.

What gift is more important to you? When we focus on gifts that have no eternal value, we lose focus on God. This loss of focus allows gifts of lesser value to come between you and God’s love. God never leaves us, but we slowly distance ourselves from God to make room for the gifts He has given us. We begin to love the gifts more than the giver of the gifts.

Don’t you want more gifts? God has more for you , but we need more of Him. God never loses sight of what is important. He sees how our focus on what He gives us often stands in the way of His relationship with us. He wants to be part of our lives, not just be a gift-giver or protector.

Are the gifts more important than God? As we move closer to God, we come to the realization that nothing is better than living in God. There is no greater joy than to know your hand is in the hand of God (3 John 1:4, John 10:28). Any gift that could keep us from experiencing the fullness of God has no place in our lives.

Dear God,

Thank you for your blessings. Help me to keep my focus on you. There is nothing I want more than to be with you.

Amen

WHAT IF GOD WAS GOOD?

While God compares Himself to a loving parent, He also acknowledges that His love is greater:
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11

When we choose God and reflect His charac- ter, we become beneficiaries of His goodness: For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

While God gives good things, His goodness was demonstrated best in the giving of Himself:
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

BE BLESSED!!

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