Amazingly Gifted

Look for the common word:

"For you granted [me--Jesus] authority over all people that I might give eternal life to all those you have given me. . . . I gave them the words you gave me. . . . I have given them the glory that you gave me." (John 17:2, 8, 22)

There is a lot of giving going on in Jesus' prayer. Read it again. At the heart of it all is the gift of the kind of life that has an eternal quality. On top of that, I notice that believers themselves are gifts to Jesus from the Father. My faith, at its foundational level, is not my gift to Jesus, but the Father's gift, because he has created that faith in me. There is simply no place for pride.

He's also given me his life-giving words of truth and grace and hope. And here's the especially surprising part: he's given me the glory that was given to Jesus. I think it's more than a prophetic past tense. In God's sight, a believer like me is already exuding glory in some supernatural way, though it's unseen by humans. I wonder, as the spirit world watches us, do they see a divine glow around those who are Christ's?

Thank you, God, for these indescribable gifts. I don't know why you would give them to me. Amen.