the gift that keeps on giving
My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled. Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. The Father doesn’t change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon. God decided to give us life through the word of truth to make us his most important creatures. —James 1:16–18
Erin and I went out for dinner to a local restaurant and as the host took us to our table, we passed table after table of couples and friends. But what struck me as odd was they were sitting together around their tables, but individually engrossed in their own phones.
Together, but alone. Communicating—with someone—but not connecting with the person across the table.
One of the reasons this caught my eye is that when I go out with Erin it is to have undistracted time—to enjoy good food and her company. And it wasn’t just the phones that each person was focused on, but the distracted looks; the furrowed brow as they communicated with someone else, somewhere else.
Recently I received a voice message from some friends who live in India. It was a recorded message because (as they said) they’re not able to write in English—which is good for me, because I’m not able to write in Marathi! So we send recorded “texts” back and forth.
Whether its texting, emailing, Instagram, Facebook, X, a PM, whatever, all of these are gifts to communicate.
But if you ever wonder why you just picked up your phone and began mindlessly scrolling through your apps, or you opened your social media app and 15 minutes later closed it—but forgot to take care of the item you opened it for in the first place—you are beginning to realize that this kind of communication has become a distraction for what is most important.
In fact, one of the original promises of increased communications would be a better-connected world. We have never had more ways to communicate, and yet around the world, the walls between people, races, political persuasions and generations continue to rise.
James, Jesus’ little brother, gives us a glimpse into what we are missing in our communication-filled, but connection-starved lives. He says this:
My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled. Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. The Father doesn’t change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon. God decided to give us life through the word of truth to make us his most important creatures. James 1:16–18
There was a misunderstanding about God in James’ day. They thought that God was actively bringing chaos and trouble into the lives of people. So, James wanted to set the record straight.
Here’s how he breaks it down. He says “Don’t be distracted or deceived, every truly good gift is from God himself—the One who set the sun, moon and stars in place. But, unlike the light of the sun and moon, His goodness doesn’t shift or change. His favor doesn’t set like the sun. It doesn’t enter into different phases like the moon. His love for us is constant. And His gift to us—through the cross—is life, displaying for us that we are His priority. People are his most important creation.
The holiday season is right around the corner, and one of the reasons we love holiday gatherings is because we get to connect with those who are most significant in our lives. We love connection with others because God hard-wired us for relationship.
While there are many gifts that we have access to today, none of them compare to the gift of God’s presence. In his presence we are able to set aside the anxiety that accompanies our days. And his presence is discovered in worship.
We communicate with God in prayer, but we connect with him in worship. This is the place of refreshment, renewal and regeneration.
It is a place of rest.
Worship is not only the key to connecting with your Heavenly Father, but it is the solution to the animosity in our world, to allow us to truly connect with each other.
Don’t miss the opportunity this weekend to gather with others to worship the One who gave you life.
You were created to worship. And when you do, you will experience his presence—which is better than life itself.
Bill Herried is a pastor at CenterPoint Church in Tacoma, Washington and is married to the most extraordinary woman on the planet. Together they have 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren. He has been the lead pastor at CenterPoint Christian Fellowship in Tacoma since 2006. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and Master of Divinity from Corban University in Salem, Oregon—and he loves a good biryani.
Image by qrzt from Pixabay
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