5: Gift

Gifts!

At this time, checkout lines in many stores are longer than usual — filled with parents shopping for kids, spouses and friends shopping for each other. Stores are sending out last minute emails so online shoppers can order gifts that would come in time for Christmas. Millions of secret Santa gifts, year-end bonuses are being passed around, and the gift bag and wrapper business is booming.

It’s no surprise that there’s so much giving at Christmas. The wise men brought gifts — gold, frankincense and myrrh when they came to see Jesus in the manger, and though the Bible did not attach any symbolic meaning to the gifts, it was clear that the gifts were accompanied by worship and they meant something to Mary and Joseph.

The birth of Jesus was the manifestation of God’s gift to humanity. A gift that had a purpose – to broker a pathway back to God. When anyone receives Jesus, they receive the gift of Life and light and peace and joy that sustains them through life’s journey.

As Jesus is God’s gift to man, so you are to your generation. This season, disabuse your mind of self-doubt. Let today’s card remind you that:

You are a gift. You have a purpose.
You have a gift. That gift has a purpose.

In addition to the greatest gift, Jesus, that unique ability that you have (or that you despise as inconsequential) is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your worship and your gift to your generation.

What are you going to do with the gift that you are?

“Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

Tomorrow’s toy is: Shield

Author: Toluwanimi

Toluwanimi believes young people can do great things with their lives. “Give them wings; watch them soar,” He always says. He is a physician by training and a budding behavioral scientist with a keen interest in child and adolescent health and development. Having worked with teenagers for over a decade, he loves to study and practice evidenced-based methods of inspiring positive behavioral change. His current project, GrandHeights, aims to provide resources and mentorship connections that inspire and empower young people to realize their life’s full potential despite negative circumstances around them. He plans to develop an establishment that will conduct research, develop effective strategies that will impart hope, empowerment, and refuge for youth and families in at-risk situations. He also believes creativity can be a transformative tool and through his start-up, Missionary Creatives, he helps nonprofits tell their stories and develop strategies to drive growth. View all posts by Toluwanimi