Ray Stone
Gift—a simple word. One easily understood by everyone old enough to remember a birthday! A gift, by definition, is something given—free for nothing, as the saying goes. You don’t earn it, maybe you don’t even deserve it, but you get it anyway.
We sometimes use the term free gift, but that’s redundant. A gift is free—or it isn’t a gift. In all fairness, the Bible uses that term overtly twice (Rom. 5:15-16) and once more as an unstated but understood term (v. 18, in italics). God thus emphasized the nature of the gift, as though saying ”it’s a gift—yes, it’s really free!”
God’s gift, of course, is much more significant than a birthday gift or a natural talent, for all their similarities. His gift is “justification” (Rom. 5:16) or “righteousness” (v. 17). He even spells it out: “Righteousness unto eternal life…” (v. 21). How can that work, since there is “none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10)? The rest of that verse tells us: “…through Jesus Christ our Lord.” That’s the gift. He says it again: “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). And again: “For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).
Polite society recommends an expression of thanks for gifts. Perhaps you schooled your children to write thank-you notes, or in this day and time express their gratitude through an internet message to the givers. The apostle Paul gives us this same recommendation: “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15).
Now the thing about gifts that isn’t often considered is that there are two sides that make it so. Obviously, there is the giver, the one who decides to present you with a gift—not based on your merit, that’s a reward. Not based on getting something in return, that’s a purchase, but forced on you, that’s a burden—but simply offering you a thing of value, free for the taking. Then there is the other side of the coin that isn’t quite so obvious. It requires one to take the gift, to accept it from the giver, to receive it into his possession. After all, if the offered gift is refused, you can’t very well say “I gave it to him”, can you? The best you can say is “I tried to give it to him, but he wouldn’t take it.” “It was supposed to be a gift, but he refused.” That’s when a gift—isn’t. It’s when the intended recipient doesn’t want it and won’t take it. So, to make a gift a reality, there must be a giver and a receiver. The lack of either one short-circuits the process altogether. Consider Jesus’ plea to the Jews: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killeth the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37). There’s the offer of a gift which was turned down, making it not a gift.
More than that, to refuse a gift may even turn the attempt into an insult, a thing of intended benevolence becoming an occasion of hurt feelings and ill will. Much tact and grace is required to turn down the offer of a gift without causing resentment. About the only way it wouldn’t be is if the supposed gift is of no value to either one: “This is worthless, I don’t want it, you can have it.” “Thanks, but no, I don’t want it either.” And both walk away, no insult intended or taken—and no gift either. Or if you suspect the offer isn’t what it seems, that it isn’t really a gift at all, but rather a bribe with strings attached. To walk away from such an offer is wisdom. But to refuse a gift of value, offered in good faith, by someone who knows you need it. What a slap in the face. What disrespect! The very offer forces one into a decision—he is obligated to receive it or reject it, with potential consequences for good or bad. Don’t take gift-giving and receiving lightly!
So now let’s think again of God’s intended gift to us all, eternal life in Heaven in His presence (1 John 2:25; 5:11). It is of inestimable value, having cost the very life-blood of His only begotten Son (Heb. 9:12). It is offered from a pure motive, love and concern for us (John 3:16). It’s a gift—but only if you accept it!
So how do you accept God’s gift of eternal life? You can’t just reach out and take it from Him. It’s an abstraction, and He is Spirit into Whose literal presence we cannot come (Exo. 33:20; 1 John 4:12). You accept His gift by meeting His conditions. Yes, gifts can come with conditions: “I’ll give you my model train set, on one condition: You must share it with your brother!” Sharing it doesn’t mean you earned it; you just met a simple condition. God’s gift is just like that. All He asks is that you leave behind that separating-sin, profess belief in His Son and the sacrifice He made, and be baptized—immersed in water—in a symbolic burying of the old man and resurrection into a new life (Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:9-10; 6:3-6). Three things: One with the mind (repentance); one with the heart (belief); and one with the body (baptism). You don’t earn it by this means, you just meet His simple conditions. Then you can be called a “child of God” (1 John 3:1-2) with the prospect of living with Him in eternity when this life is over (1 John 2:25; 5:11). This is the offered gift—accept it!
