Flowers, Chocolate, and Kisses...and the Ultimate Gift

Flowers, chocolate, and kisses are all amazing gifts that many of you will probably receive this week. These gifts make us feel special, loved, and maybe even “twitterpated” like in the movie Bambi. The owl describes this perception to Bambi, Thumper, and Flower as “You begin to get weak in the knees. Your heads in a whirl. And then you feel light as a feather, and before you know it you’re walking on air.” As wonderful as these gifts might make us feel, the greatest gift of love was given to us many years ago.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus came to live on this earth, died on the cross, and rose from the grave to make a way for us to spend eternity in Heaven. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”. This is not a gift we can earn. We can not work hard enough, be sweet enough, be pretty enough, sing beautifully enough...to acquire this salvation. As a matter of fact, none of us (Rom. 3:23-For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God) are good enough. He died for us despite anything, (yes ANYTHING) no matter how terrible, that you may have done. We might be able to put makeup on our secrets so the world doesn’t see it, but God sees right through. And He STILL loves us! So what do you have to do to get this free gift? Romans 10:9 tells us, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior already, what is stopping you from doing that today? Confess your sins, accept the gifts of forgiveness, love, and eternal life in Heaven that only He can give.

God wants to complete us like no crush, boyfriend, or husband ever can. 1 John 4:16 tell us, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” Give God residence in your heart and let His love fill you. Ephesians 3:17-19 says, “Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God.”