I am sure every one of you reading this has received and given many gifts.  Some have probably been small and insignificant (every white elephant Christmas gathering you’ve ever attended) and some have probably been costly and important.  Let me share a few of my favorite gifts with you that I’ve received.

I’m looking at two of my favorite gifts as I am writing this chapter.  One is a water color painting of the skyline in St. Augustine, Florida drawn from the viewpoint of the Bridge of Lions.  I studied at Flagler College in that beautiful north Florida coastal town and for the last two years daily drove over this bridge and got stuck at the drawbridge.  I loved this town and all that it brought into my life: a wonderful church, mentors, and friends.  My mentors gave me this as I graduated from college.  I loved it and have always wanted to have a home to display it in.  We have it in our apartment on the mantel as a gorgeous reminder of home and friendship.

Another favorite gift I’ve received is my engagement ring.  When a girl has waited so long for something to important – it better be good!  Most typical girls I know have searched the websites and looked in jewelry stores picking out their ideal engagement ring; I was no different.  I didn’t want a solitaire because I was afraid it would get caught in my hair or messed up with food as a I was cooking.  I wanted the main stone to be flat and round.  I, like any smart girl, told both of my best friends what I desired in a ring.  My smart boyfriend asked them what I liked.  He then picked out the ring himself.  When my best friend saw it weeks before he proposed, she knew I would LOVE it.  And believe me, I did.  Even now, I sit and stare at it as the light bounces off the shiny stones and reflects its warmth.  It is a sign of my husband’s love for me, not because it is shiny and pretty, but because he thought of me when he was buying it.

These two gifts are reflective of the love and relationship of the people who gave it to me.  My mentors and my husband are definitely 2 of the most important earthly relationships that I have.  These gifts are earthly – one will collect dust and the other will need to be cleaned to keep its sparkle. 

What is a gift?  A gift is something undeserved.  Did I deserve an engagement ring?  No.  Did I deserve a beautiful painting?  No.  If I had, these would not be gifts, but more like paychecks.  They wouldn’t mean as much either.  But, because both parties desired to give me something just to show their love for me, these gifts meant so much more.  Thankfully, they gave, because I didn’t deserve either one of them. God demonstrates Himself to be a gracious giver to us time after time in Scripture.  This giving demeanor is still true in our lives today.  Let’s take a look at James 1 and see what this little book says about God’s giving nature.

James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Finishing off from James 1:12

Psalm 73:25 : Whom have I in heaven but you?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.”

So, how does this command to desire nothing line up with the awaiting a crown?  I understood this a little better after a conversation with my husband over dinner.  The crown will be given by God Himself, and therefore my desiring of the crown, is a good thing because it is a gift from God.  Here is an example:

My husband comes home one night bringing me 7 fresh-picked yellow roses for our 7 month anniversary.  He says “Thank you for being my friend.”  What would happen to our friendship if I took the roses and threw them in the garbage?  I am positive that would not be the reaction that he wanted.  But instead, I did what any grateful wife would do: I hugged and kissed him, told him thank you, then placed the sunshine-filled vase in a place where everyone could see – and even posted a picture and put on social media exclaiming what a great husband I had.

The same idea applies for our heavenly crown.  Would we want to be handed a dingy crown when we got to heaven?  Certainly not.  We want a crown reflective of the One who will give it to us.  We want to work for the praise of God.  And when God gives it to us, we will be thankful because we will fully understand then that our good works were not for our glory but for His (Matthew 5).

When we say we desire a crown, or we work and are faithful to receive the “crown of life” – we desire God’s praise.  This is something we should desire.  All of life should lead toward hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

This month I will be posting excerpts from the Bible study I’m writing.  Hope you are blessed.  Would love any thoughts that you have.

Why is there a need to study Scripture?  There are many reasons.  Dr. Wayne Grudem, a professor and theologian, has this to say about the necessity of Scripture, “the necessity of Scripture means that the Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel, for maintaining spiritual life, and for knowing God’s will.” (ST, pg 116)

So, let’s take those three and apply them to a study like this on the book of James:

1.  We study it for a better knowledge of the gospel.  In this study, I hope you will see that the book of James tells us that we are not perfect, cannot do all the demands that the Word gives us, yet there is one who has done everything perfectly.  That is the essence of the Gospel.  We are not perfect, but are loved by someone who is perfect.

2.  We study the Word to maintain our spiritual life.  How can a marriage survive if the couple never communicates or shares life together?  How can a friendship thrive if there is no line of communication and time spent with each other?  Just as there can be no harmony in a marriage or friendship without communication, there is little growth in The Lord without time spent reading His Word.  It is His letter to His children.  Why wouldn’t we want to read it?

3.  We study the Word of God to know His will.  Romans 12.1-2 tells us this – that we can know God’s good, perfect, and pleasing will.  How do we know it?  We can read, study, know, memorize, and reflect upon the Word He has given us.  Then when we are faced with a decision to make, we often won’t have to worry about what to do.  The Spirit will bring what we already know to remembrance (John 15-17).  One of the Spirit’s roles is to be our Teacher.  One of his primary ways of doing that is through the Word of God.