John 1:11-12 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
If someone handed you a gift that was wrapped in wrinkled newspaper, would you accept it with or without hesitation? What if someone kind of threw a gift at you that was elaborately wrapped? Would you accept it with or without hesitation? You have no idea what is inside either gift. The poorly wrapped gift could contain something very special, or not. The same with the other gift. What makes you decide whether or not to accept it? Most times it depends on the appearance. Sometimes it depends on the delivery. And it can also depend on the giver.
As humans, most of our decisions are based on appearance or familiarity of ones history. One definition of appearance is “that which strikes the eye”. A lot of time we lose out on things and people that we need in our life because we are judging by appearance. This is only natural. The next measure we use is by how things and people are presented to us. When someone takes the time to gift you with something, we should look at the persons heart and intent before we focus on the gift itself.
The bible says that Jesus came unto His own and was not received. It also says He could do no miracles in His home place. Naman was almost not healed of his leprosy because he felt that the instructions he was given was beneath him. The world would not accept the gift of Jesus because He was not presented the way the world wanted. But the motive and heart of the giver was genuine and totally loving. Many have missed out on the benefits of God’s gift because they could not see and accept what it meant. Now is the time to get to know the giver. Then and only then can you receive and accept the gift and understand the full benefits you will be entitled to.
Father, help me to more understand Your heart so I can fully embrace and accept the gift of Your Son, and the gift of the Holy Spirit that allows me to spend eternity with You.