Gifts

Do you like receiving gifts? I think most of us probably do! Gifts are a way we show each other love. We give gifts for birthdays, Christmas, weddings, anniversaries and just to say I love you or I appreciate you. Gifts also make us feel loved. They are pretty unanimously considered good and positive aspects of our lives. Gifts are good. However, Paul Tripp reminds us, “The physical, created world is full of engaging and entertaining delights, but it is important to understand that nothing in the physical world can give you the life that your heart longs for.”

Physical gifts are good – but they will not satisfy us.

We also use the term “gifted” to describe people who have special talents in specific areas. The idea that we are “gifted” is a positive. Many of us know gifted artists, athletes, writers. If we are not gifted in a certain area, sometimes we wish that we had this or that “gift”. The idea, at least for Christians, is that God gifted us with talents and we are to use them to further His kingdom. Once again, the word and idea of “gifts” holds positive and desirable connotations for us.

Personal giftedness is good – but it will not satisfy us.

The greatest gift of all time, a good gift given to all people of all cultures in all times, was that of God’s own son, Jesus, dying on the cross for the sins of the world. It is a true gift – one that is not earned – but still offered. It is a gift that offers life to the dead. It is a gift that does not depend on our goodness or our worthiness. Tripp encourages, “That empty tomb not only means He has conquered death, but it tells you He has life in His hands, the kind of life all human beings were designed to long for whether they know it or not. You can’t find or earn that life on your own. It is yours only by means of the work of another.”

Jesus Christ alone – is the only one who can fully satisfy us.

Here at the PCC, we offer people gifts. We offer people the choice of life. Our gifts are simple things like diapers, or a loving and attentive counselor. We encourage people and support them when life is hard, and full of hard choices. Our staff and volunteers use their personal giftedness to serve others. But, these do not compare to the One who gives life. The greatest gift that we offer is the testimony of Jesus Himself when He said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). We are grateful that God has given this important calling to us, and are so thankful that you believe in and support our mission as well!

Our annual Fall Banquet’s theme is, “Gift.”  We hope you will join us for this very special evening. It will be an inspiring time of focusing on the one true gift.

— Lyndon Azcuna, Executive Director, Pregnancy Care Center, Niles