The Purpose of the Gift
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” —John 1:29
When you are planning to give a gift to someone, you usually start thinking about it ahead of time. What would this person really want? Then, of course, you start searching for it and saving for it. It is not something you do at the last minute—if so, you are a poor giver. If you haven’t planned ahead to get a gift for your family yet, you are a poor giver. Maybe you are planning on finding a shopping mall that is open until the last minute. Maybe you have been working really hard and you haven’t had time. But I think if you really love someone, then you will take the time to select a gift for them in advance.
This gift God gave to us was not an afterthought. Long before there was a stable in Bethlehem, long before there was a garden called Eden, long before there was a planet called Earth, a decision was made in the counsels of eternity. God decided to send His Son to save us from our sins. God knew that Adam would fall. God knew he would cross the line and eat the forbidden fruit and sin, and God knew that as a result, we all would be sinners.
That is why the Bible says that Christ was slain from the foundation of the world (see Revelation 13:8). The all-knowing, ever-present God made the decision long before our actual sin that Jesus would come to this earth, be born, and would live, die, and rise again from the dead to save us from our sins. This was the purpose of the gift God gave to us.
Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.
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“True riches, according to the Bible, are secured in heaven, where moth and rust can’t destroy and where thieves cannot break in and steal. True riches are found in Jesus Christ.” --Greg
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