The Greatest Gift.

Posted by Alysun



Read Deuteronomy 6:10-19



We’ve probably all filled out silly surveys that reveal the most personal details about ourselves. Like “Coke or Pepsi?,” “What’s your favorite color?,” and “Your mother’s middle name.” Burning information our friends need to know so we email out the survey and waste a few minutes of time.



One questions used to always stump me though: “What is the best gift you ever received?” I could answer about the bike I got when I was 8. It was pink and gray. Or the down pillows I got for Christmas one year. I could also say, “The engagement ring in the beautiful lit box my handsome boyfriend gave me when he proposed at Paradise Look-out.” It was a beautiful gift, but it wasn’t the “best.”





The best gift I ever received was one I passed off as rather boring at the time. I was not thrilled when my parent presented me with a Bible when I was 10 years old. I was probably longing for a sweater with a cat embroidered on it or a shiny new pair of white keds. But my parents gave me a Bible. They asked my grandparents to write down their favorite scripture verses and passages and then highlighted them in different colors in the Bible. Grandpa Harv and Grandma Bonnie are orange. Grammy is yellow. Grandad is purple. My Dad’s favorite verses are blue and Mom’s are pink.



I’m ashamed to say I didn’t use that Bible much in grade school or highschool. It collected dust except for Sundays when I took it to church. Occasionally I would notice the highlighted sections and feel comfort knowing that my grandparents and parents looked at the same scriptures. I was a believer in Jesus Christ my whole life, having the blessing of being raised in a Christian home, but my faith was not my own.



My turning point was at age 19 and I finally committed to God (more on that later). My own faith. My own purpose. I opened my Bible and read. Verses I had memorizes years before felt like water to my soul. I knew comfort and peace from reading the Bible. Instead of dreading reading, I enjoyed it. I saw those special highlighted passages in a different light.



One of my Dad’s passages, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm1:1-2). My father is a man of God. I took it for granted before, but now I am so thankful.



And one highlighted from Grandpa Harv and Grandma Bonnie, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1). My grandparents lived this verse and served God wholeheartedly. (My grandpa is gone now, but my grandma continues to lead a beautiful Christian life).



My Christian heritage is the best gift I ever received. I am surrounded by people who love God and live it. It is a gift I desire to give to my children. I will take the time and do a similar Bible for each of my children when they can read so they can be encouraged by their grandparent’s, great-grandparents, and parent’s faith. It lasts like no other gift.



If you are a first generation Christian, it is not too late to pass on a godly heritage. Let your generation be the first to know and love God. Like Deuteronomy says,

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.

Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (6:5-9)