It is that time of year again when people are seen everywhere rushing around in search of the perfect gift to buy for their loved ones. As long as it is kept in its proper perspective, this is okay, but please remember that the gifts that are the best, the gifts that are the most valuable and the gifts that are most precious are not found in a store and neither do they come bundled up in bright wrapping paper bedecked with ribbons and bows. No, the best and perfect gifts come from our Lord above.
Our Founding Fathers seemed to grasp this concept of all gifts coming from God our Creator, Sustainer and Savior better than most people seem to do today. In 1781 Thomas Jefferson stated,
"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that His justice cannot…sleep forever."
Yes, what Thomas Jefferson said centuries ago is absolutely true today. All of our liberties and all of our blessings come from God. James writes, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17 [NKJV]) We must never forget this as individuals, and we must never forget this as a people. I believe it is also very important, too, that our children taught and understand where our blessings and liberties derive, and that they understand the high price it has cost so many to ensure our liberties are protected. John Quincy Adams, our nation’s sixth President, commented for the benefit of future generations to come regarding the great payment the founding of our nation cost his own generation by saying,
“Posterity – you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”
God’s greatest gift of His boundless grace was His love for mankind in that He demonstrated this love by giving us His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. It was freely bestowed upon us, but it was not without cost. This gift came with the ultimate price tag: The suffering, shed blood and death of Jesus on behalf of all of mankind. We must never forget this! Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 [NKJV]) What a great and perfect gift, indeed!
Our Founding Fathers seemed to grasp this concept of all gifts coming from God our Creator, Sustainer and Savior better than most people seem to do today. In 1781 Thomas Jefferson stated,
"And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that His justice cannot…sleep forever."
Yes, what Thomas Jefferson said centuries ago is absolutely true today. All of our liberties and all of our blessings come from God. James writes, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17 [NKJV]) We must never forget this as individuals, and we must never forget this as a people. I believe it is also very important, too, that our children taught and understand where our blessings and liberties derive, and that they understand the high price it has cost so many to ensure our liberties are protected. John Quincy Adams, our nation’s sixth President, commented for the benefit of future generations to come regarding the great payment the founding of our nation cost his own generation by saying,
“Posterity – you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”
God’s greatest gift of His boundless grace was His love for mankind in that He demonstrated this love by giving us His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. It was freely bestowed upon us, but it was not without cost. This gift came with the ultimate price tag: The suffering, shed blood and death of Jesus on behalf of all of mankind. We must never forget this! Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 [NKJV]) What a great and perfect gift, indeed!
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