Gifts that Sting
Sweetest Day is Saturday October 21, 2023
14 years ago (almost to the day), my heart was set on winning the heart of Abigail Walker.
I’d tried everything in the book and been rebuffed at least 5 times. Nevertheless, I was going to try again.
I gave Abi a Nintendo 64 along with some games and controllers. She’d told me about how her dad tossed theirs when they got to college and how all 3 siblings were upset.
This gift was a big risk.
The moment when we were playing Tony Hawk and she let her guard down is still vivid. She put her arm around me like the friends we were, and I knew we were headed in the right direction. (I played against our children on that N64 this week.)
Only a year later when we were engaged, I prepared another gift. It was a wall decoration that said “Abigail & David”. I worked hard to make it and looking back now, it was awful.
It was destined to be a flop… and it was.
Gifts are a tricky thing. They can communicate powerfully. As any couple knows, a bad gift can fuel a lot of unhelpful communication.
In receiving a bad gift we are inclined to ask, “Do you even know me?” and “Did you consider what I want at all?”
We find ourselves asking this about God throughout life often, don’t we?
We receive the things of life He has planned for us and quickly doubt Him when the gift seems wrong.
Does God really know me or care for me?
The Lord Jesus prepares His disciples with some context for what they receive in life.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:11–13
The Lord reminds us of the relationship we have with God in Him. Absolutely your Father loves you! The gifts you can’t understand are not signs of torture but places you need to lean in to see His love.
Leaning in to see the love of the Father in the circumstances of our life requires real trust.
Luke records the Lord’s hope for us in a way that should excite the believer. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate gift and sign of the Father’s love. The people reading Luke’s Gospel have received the Holy Spirit!
Christians need to trust the Father’s sovereign plan, but they don’t have to do that in a vacuum. They trust in the fellowship of the Triune God.
The Father gives the Spirit to Christ’s people. The Spirit unites us to Christ in all His holiness and blessings. The Spirit testifies within us as the down payment of all the blessings of Christ that will unfurl eternally.
In other words, when you think you are receiving a bad gift, you need to turn to the best gift and do the math. We can’t let the circumstances of life speak louder than the Spirit.
The Father who gave you the Spirit and brought you to Christ is not mistreating you now.
This trust, fellowship, and struggle in relationship with the Triune God is the gift of prayer! Wrestle with your circumstances and recognize that God is not giving a scorpion when you ask for an egg. Talk with Him about all His gifts in the gift of prayer.
The Spirit’s arm around you reminds you that you and Christ are friends you are headed in the right direction.
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32