Articles
Best Gifts
This is the time of year we get gifts and gifts and gifts from family and friends. Children, especially, love this time of gift giving. What was the best gift you ever received? For some, the answer would be a doll, a truck or maybe a football. Some might even get a little bigger by saying a bicycle or a car.
In I Corinthians 12:31, God instructs us about gifts. It tells us “desire the best gifts.” God is referring here to the gifts that you can receive spiritually and that we need to strive to obtain the best spiritual gifts we can. After we obtain these best gifts, God expects us to use them to help ourselves and others serve the Lord faithfully.
Every member here at Brookhill has some type of best gift. We are not talking about some miraculous ability that was given to Christians in the first century but some special ability unique to them that they can use as a blessing to others. All members will not have the same gifts and abilities. This is alright because we can each still help out one another with the ability we have. Remember that all our gifts and abilities come from God, whether it’s the gift of singing, publicly praying, preaching and teaching, or being an elder. We must never be jealous of one another’s gifts and abilities but rather be glad for all the gifts that will glorify God.
Whatever gift you have been blessed with, this gift must be combined with love or it is useless. In I Corinthians 13:1-8, God describes the characteristics of love. We talk about the first century gifts of speaking in tongues, prophesy, miraculous faith, and realize that as great as these gifts were, if they did not have love with them, it profited them nothing.
Now let’s go back to the idea of wanting to have the best gifts from God. What is the best gift you can receive from God? I believe it is the gift of love which is displayed by loving God, family, friends, brethren, neighbors, enemies and even strangers.
I hope you have a great holiday season and you even receive a few gifts that you really enjoy. May we never forget the gifts and abilities God has given us to enjoy and to use and glorify Him. We sing a song called “God is love”, and how true it is. May we use all our gifts with love.
