The Gift

I was thinking this morning about two stuffed animals I'd gotten for the boys at work. At this moment, I don't know where those toys are, or if the boys even play with them anymore. This made me think about how many gifts and blessings my parents have given me that I don't even use or appreciate anymore. I have thanked them, and I am grateful, but the gifts themselves (some of them) mean nothing to me anymore. I give them away, or throw them away, and right then, I have forgotten the thought and love behind that gift.
One gift I do not want to ever forget is Christ on the cross at Calvary, because this is the greatest gift, with the greatest significance in history. It will never be irrelevant, and it will never fail to accomplish the purpose God planned in it - to redeem His chosen people by causing Christ to willingly pay for their sins by His death. In this must be my daily hope and trust. The One True God, Yahweh, who sent Jesus Christ to die a sinless death on behalf of us, sinners with hearts of stone, will accomplish what He has promised for us - eternity with Him (among other things, but definitely most important). How often I dishonor and despise this gift by my actions. When I sin, I am saying He is not sufficient for me, and my hope and joy in Him isn't enough when compared to the offerings of this world.
"And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9:23-26

I hope, by His grace, that I will never be ashamed of Jesus and His words, but will lose my life for His sake.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%203:21-26;&version=47;
This is His Gift. May we not forget.