Don’t you just love the beaming smile and how the eyes of a child light up when they receive a gift. And especially one they have so long desired. Almost in disbelief they say, “For me? For me?”
My first bike was a Malvern Star. I think I stopped breathing when I first clapped eyes on that shiny chrome bike. I love Christmas, birthdays, home warming parties and any other reason to receive gift.
Later, I realised it was even better when you could give a gift. I give the gift, the recipient gives me delight. There is something really special when an exchange like this occurs.
One of the best gifts ever was when I received the Holy Spirit.
When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:15-17
What a gift to receive. What a gift to give. I didn’t (or could anyway) purchase it. It’s not even mine. But I have the privilege to ‘deliver it’ to those who believe. I get to see the joy that comes from receiving such a gift. I have it too and even when I give it away I still have it. What a gift – it doesn’t get better than that.