The Christian Life Is To 'Give And Forgive'

2nd Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

The inspired Holy Bible says give thanks to God for His UNSPEAKABLE GIFT! Really, there is only one such gift in the Bible—God's unspeakable gift of His dear Son, Jesus. Every other gift that people give is merely a TYPE of the ultimate gift which God the Father gave of His only begotten (biological) Son. James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

I am convinced that there is no better way in the world to be like Jesus, than to be generous and live a life of giving. “For God so loved the world, that he gave...” (John 3:16a). There are several ways we can  BE LIKE JESUS:

1. We are supposed to have JESUS' MIND (1st Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5)
2. We are to WORK like Christ (John 14:12)
3. We're to LOVE like Jesus (John 15:12)
4. We're to FORGIVE like Christ (Ephesians 4:32)
5. We are to SERVE one another like Christ served us (John 13:14)
6. We're to be AMBASSADORS in Christ's stead (1st John 4:17; 2nd Corinthians 5:20)

Now, the entire Christian life can be wrapped up in one little package, which is simply to be like Jesus. This is God's goal for every child of His. I am to be what Jesus Christ would be if He were here. The adage is true: You are the only Jesus that someone knows. God wants you and me to be a little Jesus!

There is a divine plan from God, and we are here on earth because we're in the process of surrendering to that plan. And that plan is making you into the poetry of God, the masterpiece of God. We are the clay in the hands of the Potter. Isaiah 64:8, “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”

God has no hands but our hands to do His work today. He has no feet but our feet to lead men to His way. We're the only Bible this careless world will read. We're the sinner’s gospel. We're the scoffers creed. We're the Lord’s last message given in deed and word. What if the type is crooked, what if the print is blurred? 

What if our hands are busy with other works than His? And what if our feet are leading where sin's allurement is? What if our tongues are speaking of things that Christ would spurn? How can we hope to aid Him and hasten His return?

My type is blurred so often, my print is so crooked, but the Master Author keeps perfecting the poem. Put another way, the LORD is still working on me...

He's still working on me,

To make me what I need to be;

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars,

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars;

How loving and patient He must be,

'Cause He's still workin' on me. 

There really ought to be a sign upon my heart,

Don't judge him yet, there's an unfinished part;

But I'll be better just according to His plan,

Fashioned by the Master's loving hands.

He's still working on me,

To make me what I need to be;

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars,

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars;

How loving and patient He must be,

'Cause He's still workin' on me.

LISTEN TO THE SONG

What is the supreme Christlikeness? It is to give. It is the “so loved” in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave...” (John 3:16a).  If you want to be like Christ, then you need to start by GIVING. James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” What a great SAVIOR!!!

Dear reader, you cannot learn to FORGIVE until you first learn to GIVE. Study the Bible and you will find that greedy people were never forgiving people. It is generous Christians who are the most merciful, because forgiveness is an act of giving. Psalms 37:21, “The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.”