Kids say funny things.
A couple of Wednesday’s ago, my parents brought my niece and nephew to our Wednesday Night Bible Studies at NBC. They are the cutest, funniest little people I know. Sarah, my wife was leading us through a time of worship and had brought up the presence of God. Apparently this caught the attention of my 2-year-old nephew because he wanted to know where his present was.
Many of us come to church with the same expectation: we want the presents not the Presence. We pursue the benefits and miss the Benefactor. We want the gifts and overlook the Giver. We seek His hand and not His face.
At the close of a section on the subject of generosity, Paul bursts out in this jubilant utterance of thanksgiving: Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15
What is this Gift that is so amazing its indescribable?
And the word “Indescribable” used here is an interesting word. It’s the Greek word ἀνεκδιηγήτῳ and means: what cannot be related, unutterable. This word shows up nowhere else in the New Testament. It gives this picture that the Gift is so great, so unlike anything else that the word used to describe it hasn’t been used to describe anything else. The Gift is so amazing that no words can properly express it. It’s higher than any mind can conceive and higher than language can articulate.
Could it be that the real Present is His Presence?
I think of the Lord’s Prayer. The first half is relational, and focuses on the Person of God (“Our Father in heaven…”) and knowing His will and ways (“Your kingdom come Your will be done”). Then we get to the “Give us…” part. Knowing Him is the point. Receiving is the natural result of knowing.
Lets pause for a moment here and critique how we relate to God. Are we missing the point? I want to encourage you, pursue His Presence, the Indescribable Gift.
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