The Ultimate Gift

Well, it is that time of year again when we say, “Happy Birthday to You!!” It may come as a birthday card, a phone call, a friend at work, a spouse rolling over in bed whispering it in your ear or it may come as a gift.

Have you ever thought about the best birthday gift you have ever received? Maybe it was a gift you received in your youth. Maybe you were proposed to you on your birthday, or maybe one of your children was born on your birthday. Over the years we have all received gifts that have brought us immense joy.

Yet consider this, on your spiritual birthday, you received the ultimate gift. God’s Son’s willingness to live in you… I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

When we get saved, when we give our hearts to God, the Trinity in turn returns the favor by giving us gifts… And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for theday of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

God pours His love into our hearts; Jesus sets up residency in us and the Holy Spirit seals us until we arrive in heaven. Talk about birthday gifts!! Unlike the gifts that you will receive on your physical birthday, those gifts that will wear out, get lost or become outdated, the gifts from God, well they just keep on giving.

There is no religion, no church or teaching that makes or implies this claim. That their founder would set up residency in your heart. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

Enjoy this day, because it is a special day, it is the day that God planned for you to celebrate long before the creation of the world. Now on the other 364 days, if there ever comes a day when you cannot find anything to be thankful for, remember the gift that keeps on giving, the Ultimate Gift, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Brian G

 ’54 / ’66  Columbia SC

Doris Jean H

’44 / ’55 Manheim PA