Give Our Best

Thursday, June 7
John 3:16    (The Message)
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son.  And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed.  By believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life."
     Once again we come back to the "Gospel in a Nutshell".  This was the text for the night I led Lenten devotions.  This will be the text for next Sunday's Children's Sermon I will give.  My audience has changed from adults to three-year-olds, but the message remains the same.
     Presents are one way we show love.  If you truly love someone, deeply love them, you want to give of your very best.  You want to give the most awesome present you can.  And then....you wait with excited anticipation for the opening.  I felt this way just two days ago as I was excited about the gifts I had wrapped up for Rick's birthday.  I remember several Christmases ago how eagerly I waited for him to open his snowshoes.  I knew it was a GREAT gift!
     But....what if the gift lays unopened?  Unwanted or forgotten?  Unappreciated?   How do we feel?  Deflated. Confused, perhaps.  We want to remind the recipient over and over....open the gift!  We want to feel the joy of their receiving our love!
     God gave to us the very best he had to give - his Son.  That was the depth of his love.  Uncomprehendable.  Unfathomable.  Unbelievable.  Yet.....Is God still waiting for us to open this extraordinary gift?   Is the box sitting in the corner?   Have we only untied the bow and then moved on to other things?  OR Is God rejoicing in heaven because we have accepted his love?  An incredible gift...Christ.
     So... my nutshell gospel might read like this: God gave his best: Jesus. Accept and open the gift. Give my best to others in response.   What does the Gospel Message mean to you....in a nutshell?