The Good and Perfect Gift

By Dr. Michael L. Williams

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

God knew that the gift He would give us must be a good gift – one that is perfect. The gift that God chose for us was Himself in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. Born as a baby and growing into a man, Jesus was given unto us to provide for the greatest need of each and every one of us – the need to have an eternal close relationship with God the Father.

However, in our natural state we cannot have that because our human sins and imperfections prevent us from being in the very presence of a good and perfect Father. This is not to say that God does not want to be near us unless we are perfect. It simply means that He wants to provide a way for it to happen by first making us good and perfect like Him.

Therefore, Jesus lived a good and perfect life for us and allowed Himself to be wrongfully crucified so that He could pay our penalty for our sins and imperfections, which is death and eternal separation from God. This was His gift to us, saving us from our penalty by giving us His goodness and perfection. Furthermore, He made it so that when we trust in what He did for us to provide His gift of salvation, we also receive Him into our lives in the form of God the Holy Spirit to live inside us. There, He provides for our practical needs and gives us joy and peace beyond all understanding. This motivates us to love God and others because He first loved us.

Let us accept God’s calling to draw near to Him by trusting in His Son Jesus Christ as the good and perfect gift of God. The gift that provides for every need and gives us the peace and the joy and comfort that God, our eternal Father, so desires that each of us have.