Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 1:17-18
Most generous heavenly Father, I awake today a grateful man, and I want to live that way all day long. Now I’m sure that attitude will be challenged by life in this broken world and by the heart that beats in this broken man. But as someone who has every reason to overflow with thanksgiving, here’s a few of your gifts for which I give you praise this morning.
First and foremost, I also praise for being the changeless Father of heavenly lights, as opposed to being the impetuous god of shifting shadows. I cannot predict you. I cannot control you. I cannot presume on your ways. But I can completely trust you to be impassible (without mood swings), yet passionately good and faithful. I know this through Jesus, who is the same “yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
I’m also thankful that twice you’ve chosen to give me birth. I can claim responsibility for neither… either the first time I breathed in oxygen or the second time you breathed the life of Jesus into my spirit, giving me the new birth. AND, I’m also thankful for all kinds of gifts you bestow—perfect ones and otherwise. Most recently, I’d include these…
The watermelon I ate yesterday… sweeter, crunchier, and more refreshing than any I’ve ever tasted in my life. The double-dutch chocolate walnut-endowed marble-slab ice cream I enjoyed Saturday. The dancing bend of my pole and the tug-of-war the big red snapper gave me a couple of weeks back. The call from a friend that came at the perfect time with the perfect life-giving rebuke.
The ability to jog without aching tendons and painful knees. The color blue… with it many hues. The understanding look my wife gave me yesterday. The assurance that you will finish making me like Jesus, one Day. The first steps of my grandson, and his always infectious smile. A thermostat that actually enables me to escape this dreadful humidity. The hope (many hopes) of the new heaven and new earth.
Father, these are just a few of the many, many gifts that come down from you all the time. What do I have that I have not received from you? Nothing. What gift have you given me that you don’t intend me to enjoy? None. How can I live as a “kind of firstfruits of all you’ve created”? Show me! So very Amen, I pray, in Jesus’ most glorious name.
