Is/Was Never Available for Purchase
That’s what’s so interesting about this whole thing. This gift has nothing to do with transacting cash or credit. I find Christmas day as an opportune time to remind us all of the greatest gift ever bestowed on mankind, as it never included a sports car or a fancy house. In fact, we find in Mathew 5:5, Jesus was quoted as saying [as part of his Sermon on the Mount] “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth”. Still today this leaves many of us scratching our heads trying to figure out how that all works. Much of what Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount still puzzles us today but mostly because we are earthbound, for lack of a better term.
Salvation is the Greatest Gift of All
The single greatest gift ever bestowed on mankind is what Jesus [first] brought to the world. Follow me he said, for I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. This is the promise that you will enter God’s eternity. But how does one get there? Well for starters we all have to die first. However, for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and savior of the world we will die only one time as our souls carry on until such a time as God establishes his new Heaven and new earth. Not until then, based on what I have read, will God’s promised eternity actually begin [for those of us who were granted salvation]. As one can imagine the stacking of money and/or property during our lifetimes here will have less than zero to do with inheriting the coming kingdom of God. Furthermore, for some of us it may even serve as a deterrent, don’t let yourself be one of these!
After Jesus Died on the Cross, Crucified
He rose from the dead and reappeared three days later. It was not only his apostles that saw him in the flesh but hundreds of others. He brought a message to his followers saying soon I will leave here and tasking them to carry his promise [of salvation] to the world. Jesus stayed on earth for a total of 40 days and toward the end of this time he promised to send his apostles a “helper” to carry out their task. His apostles, confused and apprehensive about him leaving them, were still trusting in him. This “helper” turned out to be the Holy Spirit which indwells in all believers of Christ [still] today. The apostles were the first to receive the Holy Spirit and all at the same time as they were gathered in Jerusalem, this took place around 2-3 days after Christ had ascended to heaven. This event is known and celebrated today as the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has been a mysterious figure throughout history with many questions surrounding as to who or what this really is. Interestingly enough, the Holy Spirit is described as a person, not an angel, and other than that his exact identity has remained a mystery. However, the job of the Holy Spirit is not a mystery. Those of us receiving salvation receive the Holy Spirit indwelled in us as people of faith guiding us in this life going forward. His main task or focus is to carry out God’s will on earth. [Sounds like an incredibly daunting task to me!] 🙂
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!
Always remember salvation as the single greatest gift ever awarded on earth… and any gift of this magnitude comes with a price of its own, that of which is in the form of responsibility among other attributes.
