The perfect gift

https://odb.org/2024/12/10/the-perfect-gift-3

Acts 3:6 NIV – Then Peter said, “Silver or gold, I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

As we prepare for Christmas in the coming weeks and as 2024 comes to an end, and as we ponder on the gifts we want to give to our loved ones, always remember that the best gift of them all is Jesus Christ! This is because Christ holds the keys to Hades and death (Revelation 1:8) and is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). We are saved and justified by our faith in Christ Jesus.

Acts 3:6 is significant as it was the first time the Apostles, in this case, Peter and John, performed a miracle that is characteristic of the miracles performed before Christ died, rose again and ascended to heaven. They enabled healing of a man lame from birth, reminiscent of Jesus’s “the blind will see, and the lame will walk.”

The Holy Spirit, as promised by Christ, had descended on the day of Pentecost and filled the believers with power from above, anointing, and boldness to proclaim the gospel of truth, to perform miracles and operate in signs and wonders. The other thing is that unlike Jesus, who performed miracles on His own anointing and power as the Son of God, the Apostles did so in the name of Jesus Christ. Thus, in the context of the era of the Acts of the Apostles, silver and gold they did not have, but what they had, they called out for the lame man to walk – in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

In our contemporary context, we may have silver and gold, but what’s pertinent for us to give is still Jesus Christ. We should not be precluded from giving away our money, time, and talents/giftings to help those in need and to serve God, yet the most precious gift is still our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the Holy Spirit, as seen in the book of Acts, be upon us that we may be emboldened to preach Christ crucified and resurrected this Christmas season and to pray for the sick and needy in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! May we share Christ at least once before 2024 comes to a close and glorify the name of our Father in heaven! Amen!