A Gift You Can Give God

“But Samuel replied: ‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.’” 1 Samuel 15:22 

Part of a great gift is the work it takes the person to get you that gift. The wise men brought gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense to Jesus. As great as those gifts were, the long walk for two years was the real gift. The Bible said they followed the star to get the gift to Jesus. The gift was the nights of being by themselves, separated from their families. It was walking through the desert, thirsty, cold, being attacked by robbers, running out of supplies, and wondering, “What are we going to do?” and “Are we ever going to make it?” 

When we look on the stage and see a minister preaching, we see the gift that is being given to God, but oftentimes, we forget about the journey it took to get there. We forget about the long hours of praying, fasting, and studying God’s Word. We forget about the days when the Pastor didn’t know how He would pay the next bill to keep the church running. We forget about the long walk. But God sees all that you do. Sometimes, we think all that matters is our gift when, in reality, God’s looking for faithfulness in the long walk. He wants to see that we are being changed, transformed, purified, and made into His image during the long walk.

If you’ve got a gift to offer God, that’s awesome, but there are a lot of talented people out there. God’s looking for the long walk. He is looking at what you do when no one is watching. Are you living right during the week? Are you praying? Are you reading your Bible? Are you honoring Jesus? If you’re going to give Him a gift this Christmas, that’s great. But don’t ever forget that the long walk is the best part of the gift.

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