No matter how our Christmas celebration is, isn’t there always a bit of a letdown when it’s over? The anticipation is over. The hope that this year our family gathering would be different, and yet it’s all too familiar. Even if we have a great Christmas it is hard to go back to “normal.” The gifts we were hoping for, don’t ever completely satisfy. Our hearts are always longing for more.
In John 17 Jesus reveals what His gift is to us and what the Father’s gift is to Him.
In John 17:22 Jesus speaking to His Father about us as believers says, “I have given them the glory that You gave Me.”
Take a moment to really hear that…the glory that the Father gave to Jesus, Jesus has given to you. The glory of Jesus is so powerful and majestic that John struggled to find words to describe it in Revelation. In Scripture anytime anyone came near God’s glory it was more than they could handle. That glory that the Father gave to the Son, the Son has given as a gift to each of us. You have the glory of Jesus in you.
Regardless of what circumstances you find yourself in, you have the glory of Jesus in you.
Cling to it. Draw on it. Jesus is in you.
Knowing that Jesus has given us His glory is more than enough for our every need, but He continues on in verse 24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You have entrusted to Me [as Your gift to me] may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, which You have given Me [Your love gift to Me]; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (amplified)
Jesus calls us the Father’s gift to Him. So often we hear that Jesus is the gift of Christmas. And He is. It is a time of celebrating that Jesus came to Earth in order to save us from our sin. But Jesus calls us the gift that the Father gave Him.
Regardless of what others may say about you…Jesus says You ARE A GIFT. You are Jesus’ beloved timeless gift full of the love that the Father had for the Son before the foundation of the world.
In verse 26 Jesus concludes, “I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very Self, and I will continue to make [You] known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them [felt in their hearts] and that I [Myself} may be in them.” (amplified)
This is our Christmas prayer for each of you….
That you may know His Name
That you may know His Character
That you may know HIM.
And that you may feel in your heart the love that Jesus has bestowed upon you
living with confidencethat He is with you, always.
You are not alone. He is Immanuel, ever-present, ever-powerful, and He sees you as a gift.
© Elizabeth Gunter, 2019
Elizabeth is the co-author of Safe In The Father’s Heart, Free To Be You, Blessings For Life, and Ruach Journey.
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