Advent Day 14: God's Christmas Gift

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5 ESV)

When I think of God's gift to mankind, I always think of Jesus coming to earth. And of course, the coming of the Messiah, the payment for our sins through the atonement of the cross, the conquering of death in his resurrection are all incredible and undeserved gifts from God. Not to mention that through Christ came the Holy Spirit to dwell inside the church. The incarnation of God is truly a great gift from God, which is one of the big reasons we give gifts to each other at Christmas time. God gave us the gift of His Son, so we follow his example.

This morning as I was reading in James, I was struck by another gift God gives his people. James 1:5 basically says that if you need wisdom, and you ask God for it, he will give it to you. The Greek construction in the verse and the use of all indicative verbs makes this statement a promise, not merely a possibility. God has another gift he wants to give us, it is wrapped and ready, and he is just waiting for us to ask him.

The Bible, as in depth and incredible as it is, does not answer every question we could have about life. The Bible is not going to tell me what job to take, or where to live, or how to spend all my time and money. It is not going to tell me all the different ways I can love my wife or lead my family. But that does not mean that God makes no provision for the decisions of everyday life. God is waiting to give us wisdom, He is longing to help guide us through the muddy and messy situations that life inevitably brings.

So today, let's ask God for wisdom this Christmas. Let us humble ourselves before him, knowing that we are incapable of living wisely on our own, and ask him for the gift he is longing to give us!