Gifts (Episode 3)

Hello All,

The part of the poem that we will be emphasising on today is highlighted in blue. The black colour text in the poem is a recap of what we have already done last week.

Let us now continue with the third and final episode of this poem…

Gifts (Episode 3)

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (20^th November 2014)

As Christmas draws nigh, have you pondered about gifts?

When given, the heart of the recipient they lift

'Thank you,' are the words uttered from a grateful heart

Who is quite anxious to tear the wrappings apart

Three main questions emerge in the recipient’s mind

‘Under these beautiful wrappings, what will I find?’

‘Under this covering, what am I hoping for?’

‘Would I be happy or sad with what is in store?’

When you think of ‘gifts’ in this life, what comes to mind?

‘Beyond my unrevealed future, what will I find?’

‘Beyond my circumstances, what do I hope for?’

‘Would I be happy or sad with what is in store?’

When you think of gifts, do you think of the Giver?

Or are you distracted with what life can offer?

Do you thank God for life’s gifts - the good and the bad?

Or do unfulfilled dreams leave you bitter and sad?

In the pursuit of gifts that will not satisfy

Have you pushed away God’s greatest Gift for a lie?

Is your heart opened to receive God’s only Son?

Jesus Christ, the great Saviour, whom sinners have shunned

THE END.

Points for Reflection:

‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.’  

(John 3:16 ESV)

·         Have you been pursuing the fleeting ‘gifts’ of this world? If so, what are those fleeting ‘gifts’?

·         Even if you were to attain the most exquisite ‘gift’ this world has to offer, it will never truly satisfy you. The pursuit of a ‘gift’ leads to another and it will always be a never-ending quest for life’s meaning.

·         All other ‘gifts’ are secondary to the gift of salvation that sinners like us receive by God’s grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who paid the penalty of our sin. It is in Christ that we find true joy in our salvation and hope of eternal life.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

(Ephesians 2:8 ESV)

·         Have you accepted or rejected God’s greatest Gift - Jesus Christ?

‘Whoever believes in him [Jesus Christ] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.’

(John 3:18 ESV)