Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment, search our souls and confess our very deepest longing. At first you may think of a beach house, a shiny red Mustang convertible, money to travel the world or give away to your favorite charities. I admit it: all these "things" have been on my wish list at one time or another. But if I look deeper and think of what makes my heart truly yearn, I have to admit that throughout my life I have LONGED to be known deeply and loved unconditionally. And conversely, my greatest fear is NOT being known and loved.
As I unavoidably met my 75th birthday head-on, not surprisingly I did a lot of soul-searching and thinking over my life's accomplishments and my many shortcomings. Even before the "big day" came, my dear family and friends began showering me with gifts and cards. (See some of them above!) As I contemplated the array in the days to come, I was amazed to realize that, as much as is humanly possible, I had been surrounded by exactly what I longed for: I was SO blessed to be known and loved by these earthly angels God has put in my life!
I never made a "wish list" for my birthday, and if I had, I'm sure I would never have included most of the things pictured above. But you know what? These gifts from the heart were so much BETTER than any list I could have made! Each one made me smile bigger. I kept shaking my head in awe as each package was opened to reveal an understanding of who I am and what I enjoy! But the REAL gift was not anything I unwrapped; it was the love that infused each package and the smiles that accompanied the giving.
You may be thinking, "But I'm not surrounded by friends and family who love me!" As humans, we all could do better at showing our love for one another by simply listening or "being there" for someone else. And fortunately there's no age limit on that "assignment"! But friends, I have GREAT news, the BEST news, in fact: there is Someone Who is closer to you than a brother or a friend Who loves you more than you can imagine and is ALWAYS listening to the longing of your heart! David expressed it so beautifully in Psalm 139:
Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
You understand my thoughts from far away.
You observe my travels and my rest;
You are aware of all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue,
You know all about it, Lord.
You have encircled me;
You have placed Your hand on me.
This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it....
For it was You Who created my inward parts;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well.
My bones were not hidden from You
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.
God, how precious Your thoughts are to me;
how vast their sum is!
If I counted them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;
when I wake up, I am still with You....
(Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 CSB)
Just imagine it: the God Who loved us enough to give His only Son so we could spend eternity with Him, the very God Who created us with His own hands, knows us even better than we know ourselves! No human being can truly, deeply know another, and our human love falls far short of the perfect standard of God's love. Yet, when questioned by the Pharisees about the most important commandment, Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37-39 (BSB):
“ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."
As Max Lucado has put it, "We are never more like God than when we are giving gifts." My friend, it's not about the price of the gift, or how it's wrapped or presented; it's about the heart-motivation behind the giving. Love is indeed the greatest gift of all. It's priceless!
"He must increase and I must decrease."
John 3:30
✝️
