Holding it ALL Together
There is ONE special ‘gift’ that is holding it ALL together; EVERY gift of God. That is His word. God’s promises and His integrity is what GUARANTEES us that these gifts will last.
When I was thinking about all the gifts God has given us, I realized that there is ONE thing that binds them together and guarantees us that they will be here for us FOREVER. I thought about labeling it “God’s wrapping paper” but when you open a gift, you throw the wrapping paper out. What holds all God’s gifts together CANNOT be thrown out. To do so would be to cancel, revoke, and destroy all He has given.
When God gives us a gift, it CANNOT be taken away. Satan can’t steal it. We can’t lose it. And He won’t revoke it. We can pile sin on it and make its effectiveness decrease but even sin can’t wipe it out. If it could, then it never could have been given in the first place for we are all sinful people apart from Him. His offer of salvation is to those IN SIN. As Jesus said, “The healthy need no physician.”
God’s character, His name, His ‘reputation’, His word ALL speak with one voice. He IS faithful and true. EVERY WORD He has ever uttered, or will utter, WILL come to pass. There is not a SINGLE promise that He made that will not be fulfilled. Because we KNOW this, we can KNOW that the gifts He has given us are also EXACTLY as He described them.
God’s Spirit is contained in EVERY gift. Salvation, peace, power, authority, workings of the Spirit, talents, grace, mercy, forgiveness, future in eternity, new name, ALL have His Spirit operating in them and attesting to their source. Nothing can be done apart from the Holy Spirit for the Kingdom of God. Even faith requires the Spirit bearing witness in you.
And where the Spirit is, God is also. They are parts of the whole. Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit ARE ONE. I want to share my understanding of the Trinity. I don’t know if I have shared it before, but it keeps coming to my mind as we go through these gifts. I’ve heard the Trinity likened to cherry pie; lines of demarcation on the outside but the inside flows together without distinction. I see it a little different. I see the Trinity represented in an egg. You have one item that has three parts that have distinct functions. There is the shell, the white, and the yolk. When separated they each are called by their distinctness, character. Together they are called by ONE name. Without even one part, the egg is not viable. The shell has to be strong enough to hold the yolk and white safely within its confines. The yolk must be present for life to even begin. The white is the nutrients necessary for development. Leave even one part out and all you have is death. Each part can be used independently for a specific purpose but one cannot replace the other. Even the egg shell has purposes after it is cracked. Just ask my chickens! They eat it to make even better shells for future eggs.
One thing an egg can’t do that God can is ‘come back together’ once it has been separated. After Jesus competed His work on earth, He rejoined His Father in Heaven. They also live within the hearts of man, but that DOES NOT take away from their wholeness or ‘amount’ He has to give.
Father God, THANK YOU for Your word. I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that EVERYTHING You say WILL come to pass. I can trust You in ALL things. Even when I don’t fully comprehend all that You are sharing, I KNOW You will make clear to me the things I need to know. Your word NEVER fails! Heaven and earth can pass away but Your word will STILL remain.
