Missing the Gift of God

From the Pastor: Dr. M. J. Seymour, Sr.

“But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” (Mk. 6:4) Because some folk are too close to something, it is said that they cannot see the forest for the trees. It is not that the forest is not there, but the closeness severely limits the vision to the near trees, and the view of the whole forest is hindered.

The Scriptures teach that Jesus “led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. … And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers”. (Eph. 4:8, 11) These are the precious gifts of the Lord Jesus Christ endowed with Holy Spirit anointing and certain heavenly graces. The heavenly hosts know them as “men of the Almighty God” and “servants of the Lord of Glory.” These gifts are no small matter in the hand of the Living God; and He is most jealous of them.

The world as a whole has always vehemently loathed the beloved gifts of the Eternal One, and has sought to annihilate them; but they knew not what they were doing. Randomly, some throughout the ages have received them with gladness. Yet, overwhelmingly, closeness or familiarity has clouded many eyes to the gift of the Lord Jesus in their midst. What the eyes see is not always what the whole reality is. The gift is of the spiritual and in the spiritual; yet, its presence is as sure as the Christ of Glory.

Families and friends are most often the greater offenders and abusers of the gift the Lord has given. This is probably due to being too close to the tree to see the forest. The gift may be a father, a husband, a son, or a family member; and nature, being what it is, cannot conceive the possibility of it. Hence, the heavenly gift is hidden from the eyes. It is sad that many a gift from the Lord has gone unnoticed by those nearest him. The wound is his, but the loss is theirs. A tender heart of grace amongst the thorns soon bleeds when the winds of evil thrash the thorns about him.