Apologetics

A Very Personal Gift

by Anne Adams
05/27/22
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For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NIV)

A Very Personal Gift

 John was aware with all the many bright and creative students in the mission school where he taught, but he also knew how their poor families struggled hard to keep their children in school. He was also concerned about one of them – a dedicated student named Ahmad who was also a new believer. This had come when he responded to the Gospel that was part of their curriculum and they had become close as the teacher encouraged the student. 

 But why the worry? It was because since local culture stressed gratitude and respect for teachers particularly in gift giving. Also, since Christmas was soon,  John feared Ahmad might spend money he didn’t have.

 Then came the day when his students lined up to present their gifts and Ahmad approached with a translucent seashell. John knew that these special shells were found only at a distant beach and were very expensive so he reasoned that Ahmad had probably walked that far to fnd it. 

 “Thank you, Ahmad,” John said. “It’s beautiful. You must have traveled a long way to get it.” 

 Ahmad said softly, “The long walk is part of the gift."

 iving gifts is certainly a personal idea, and sometimes as Ahmad demonstrated, it’s not always just the object itself. Which is exactly what occurred when God gave the world his ultimate Gift - his Son Jesus Christ. For just as Ahmad's special gift included personal sacrifice, Jesus' sacrifice and death was very personal indeed.

 We can never truly understand the Lord's physical and spiritual ordeal as he died for our salvation. Yet what we do know is that his death was certainly not the end but of course was actually the beginning. A very personal sacrifice to be sure - but for our benefit and his glory,