Have you ever received a gift you felt you didn’t deserve?
It’s hard to know how to respond when (or if) this happens to you.
Most of us will feel a little embarrassed by getting such a gift.
It might be that you know how much that present cost the buyer.
Alternatively you may think the gift doesn’t reflect the relationship you have with that person. Maybe you don’t feel you know them that well.
In Isaac Watts final verse he reflects on the inability we have to respond rightly to the most undeserved gift we could receive, The Lord Jesus.
Where the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small,
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Watts states that even if we owned the whole world then it would pale into insignificance with what the Lord Jesus has done for us.
In his death Jesus has given his life as a sacrifice so that we may be forgiven. Being forgiven through trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour means gaining a place in the kingdom of heaven...God’s family.
In one of Jesus’ parables he describes this kingdom like hidden treasure.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44)
The kingdom of heaven is precious.
Access to this kingdom is reserved for those who trust in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus to pay for their sins.
The gift of forgiveness we receive through Christ is something we may feel a little embarrassed about.
It is a gift we don’t deserve for our rebellion against God.
Yet the worst thing we can do is to ignore the gift!
Easter weekend is a fixed time in the year for Christians to treasure what the Lord has done for us.
Easter is also a time when some of us have our eyes opened to the gift Jesus offers us.
The final verse in this great hymn encourages us to respond in the right way to this gift.
When we see what Jesus has done for us, see what he offers us, see the privilege of being part of his kingdom we will want to commit our souls, our lives, our all to Him.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.