December 5, 2022
Melissa Valerio
Have you ever re-gifted a gift? C’mon, you know you have. And chances are, you’ve been given a re-gifted gift at some point too! I’ve done this several times. Why not? It makes sense, especially if you don’t think you’ll ever use the gift. The Bible shows us a great example of regifting. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 says “All these new things are from God who brought us back to Himself through what Christ Jesus did. And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into His favor and be reconciled to Him. For God was in Christ, restoring the world to Himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message He has given us to tell others.” (TLB)
Here is the background. God created humankind to be in intimate relationship with Himself. Unfortunately, the fall in the garden made us sinners, thereby alienating us from God and bringing on the punishment of death. Yet, in God’s love and mercy, He made a way for us to come back into relationship with Himself and freeing us from the death that our sins demanded. The way back to God is through the blood of Jesus Christ, whom God sent to be a substitute for us. Jesus, working under God’s authority, lived a perfect (sinless) life, and submitted to the will of the Father by dying in our place. When we understand our position of being sinners, and acknowledge that we need saving, then putting our trust in the work of Jesus, we are then reconciled to God our Father.
So now then, if this message of reconciliation has come to you, it’s God who initiated it, so please don’t push Him away! He is reaching out to you now to restore this broken relationship. Reconciliation is not automatic. Although Jesus has done all the hard work, we still need to do our part. God is inviting us to participate in this reconciliation by accepting the gift, and then sharing it with others. That’s the ministry of reconciliation — sharing with others their need for Jesus and the way back to God. So how about it? Let’s re-gift the greatest gift ever given this holiday season. And here’s the beauty of this gift … no matter how often we give it away, it will never run out!
Prayer: Thank You Holy Father, for the greatest gift ever given, the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ. His death on the cross, and resurrection to life means life for me too. Thank You also, for trusting me with the message of reconciliation. I will not hoard it but share it! Send me, Lord, to spread Your message of Truth. Please let it reach Your people. In Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Action: Re-gift!! This Christmas, share the gift of reconciliation with someone you care about. Plant those seeds and see how God will grow them ❤️