The Greatest Gift

I credit many of these thoughts to Jackie Weiss, who was the speaker at an event I attended last night.

Dayna is at that age where we could get her just about anything for Christmas, and she would be excited. A new can of Play-Dough would send thrills through her soul. A package of stickers would entertain her for the afternoon. A Tootsie Pop is the most exciting thing ever, with that little surprise of chocolate in the center. She doesn't really need anything this year for Christmas, but if she were to ask, I'd try to find the way to give her the world. And in a way, we already have. How many children have seen two continents by the time they are 13 months old?

But what really is the greatest gift I could give my daughter? I really thought about this after last night's event. It was suggested that the greatest gift is absolute truth. I can teach Dayna the truths that are found in the Bible; truths that are black and white in this very gray world. Truth that stands alone, despite anything another person (including myself) may say in contradiction.

Now, I know some of these thoughts are very uncomfortable for some people, including close family members, but the Bible is true. Every word. And God does not contradict Himself.

We started teaching Dayna early about sin. The Bible tells us that sin is anything we think, say or do that is against God's will or Law. We know that God is a holy God, and He can not tolerate sin in His presence. Who, then, can enter His presence? Romans 3:23 tells us "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Jesus gives that answer in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (emphasis added)

When you ask people how to get to heaven, a lot will answer that it's because of what they do. "I go to church, I give to the poor, I'm a nice person." Others will answer that it's because of what they don't do. "I've never been to jail, I don't cheat on my taxes, I don't lie, kill or steal." But absolute truth tells us that we can only find our salvation because of what Jesus has done. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God --- not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

As Dayna gets older, she will learn that we earn consequences and rewards for our actions. When I go to work and do my job, I earn a paycheck. When I drive too fast, I receive a speeding ticket. The Bible tells us that when we sin, we don't earn a slap on the wrist or a five-minute time-out. In Romans 6:23a, it says "the wages of sin is death..." That's a pretty harsh penalty, but remember, God is a holy God. We cannot enter His presence if we have sin in our lives. Fortunately, God loves us so much that this verse doesn't end with death. It goes on to say "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." And that truth is the greatest gift I can give my daughter.

Now, I know it's Christmastime, and many of you might be asking "isn't Jesus the greatest gift you can give her?" I will concede that Jesus is indeed the greatest gift. But...He isn't a gift I can give to Dayna. That's a choice she will have to make for herself when the time is right. Dayna won't receive salvation because of anything I say or do. It goes back to my earlier post about our wedding verse, Joshua 24:15. Dayna will have to choose for herself if she is going to serve God and accept His free gift of salvation. However, I can give her God's truth by reading His Word, memorizing it together, and teaching her what it means. Even now, she just sat beside me at the table and told me "God sent Gabriel to Mary to tell her she would have a baby, Jesus. And He would die on a cross to forgive our sins."

I think Dayna will be a lot more likely to choose the gift of Christ if she has been given the foundation of absolute truth. And if Dayna receives the gift of Jesus, she will have indeed received the world...maybe not all the pleasures and thrills of this world, but the endless treasures of the next.