Christ’s Gifts

Christ’s Gifts

You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

Luke 11:11-13

Our ten-year-old son, Jordan, was about to have surgery to repair a broken femur sustained in a skateboarding accident. My husband, Jim, and I were standing next to our son’s bed in a holding area of the hospital, waiting for him to be wheeled into the operating room. One of our pastors and a church elder had just left after praying with Jordan.

While we were waiting, Jordan looked up at Jim and me and said, “You know that electric guitar I’ve been wanting?” My husband and I nodded, knowing exactly where this was headed. “Well . . . do you think you could buy it for me now?” You know the old saying “Timing is everything”? Jim was out buying the electric guitar before Jordan even came home from the hospital. When we told sixteen-year-old Nate what Jordan had requested, Nate said, “I would have asked for a car!”

As parents, we want to please our children and give them good gifts. How much more must God want to bless his children? The gift Jim and I gave to Jordan sits up in his bedroom closet, and he still plays it every now and then. But the gift that God most wants to give to his children—the Holy Spirit—is the gift that keeps on giving.

Jordan had it right—he looked to his parents in dependence for the gift he wanted. How much more will God give his Spirit to those of us who ask!

Father of all gifts,

Thank you for the joy that giving gifts to our children brings. May we be quick to depend on you and be thankful each day for the gift of your Spirit’s power and presence in our lives. Amen.