Walking With God Today 03/28/08

 ”Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”  James 1:17 (KJV).

Have you ever met people who were always “tight fisted”.  They always have their hands in the fist formation.  That seems to me to be a sign of a defiant character.  They always are desiring to hold on to what they see as theirs.

What if God were “tight fisted”.  If that were the case we would be in really, really bad bad shape.  It would be even far worse than what we think it is at times.  If our Creator were of this type of character, there first of all, would probably be no creation to behold.  We would not be existing.  There would be no beautiful sunrises or sunsets.  There would be no rainbows, or rainfall.  There would be no mercy, and there would certainly be no grace.  That would mean that there would be no cross, no burial, and no resurrection.  There would be no you or me.  Unless, of course, you believe that everything just appeared by coming up out of a primordial sea.  What a miserable existence that would be.

God, however, is not “tight fisted”.  He is in fact the God of the “Open hand”.  I think that title fits Him well.  He gives us all things to enjoy.  Since He is God, and cannot be tempted to do evil, nor, does He tempt us to do evil; then, we can know that all things good come from Him.  The “good gift” and the “perfect gift” are from His “Open hand”.  Let’s think about what the good and perfect gifts are.

Some of the “good gifts” are life itself.  He gives all life.  Every beat of the heart is given by His hand.  Every breath we breathe is given by His hand.  Do you want to think of Him as “tight fisted” now?  I sure don’t.  Every meal we eat comes from His hand.  These and a multitude of other things like this are the “good gifts” which comes from His “Open hand”.  The “Perfect gifts” are things like the sending of His Son Jesus to die for our sins.  You cannot get any more perfect than a perfect Son, who came to take away our sins.  Included in that perfect gift would be the carrying away of sin, the resurrection, His ascension back to the Father.  He has also left us promise that He would return and take us to Himself forever.  The “perfect gift” is seen also in the person of the Holy Spirit who is our “earnest” until He comes.  We are also recipients of the inheritance of Jesus Christ.  We are joint heirs with Him.  Read Ephesians 1, and Romans 8.

The God of the “Open hand” is also “Father of lights”.  In Him is no darkness.  He is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).  With God as our Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Savior, Lord, and Light we must see Him as the open handed God who gives us all things for His own glory.  With God as light; the light of the noon day sun would be as a shadow in His light.  We can also know that God never changes.  As the writer of Hebrews says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  He will aways be the Light of eternity, and the world.

Walk With God Today.

-by Tim A. Blankenship