We’re in the third of five episodes in our Jesus in the Love Languages mini series where we look deeper at the ministry of Jesus. Tune in to hear ways Jesus showed words of affirmation, quality time, giving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Today’s episode 27 is Eternal and Earthly Gifts from Jesus. We’ll look at how salvation and compassion manifest through miracles.
CLICK PLAY TO LISTEN: EP 27
My pal, Oxford Dictionary, says that a gift is a thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present. As we look at the life of Jesus in his ministry, we can see examples of gifts ranging from physical to spiritual. Jesus was the perfect model, so we’ll walk through some examples of what he modeled, and what can we do in this day and age to point people to him through giving gifts.
Today we’re specifically looking at eternal and earthly gifts from Jesus, God the Son. It’s important to note that the trinity is comprised of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. They are three in one and at the same time, do different things. If you read your Bible through this lens, you’ll be able to see how the trinity roles tie together. The trinity is a tough concept! So, if you’d like to read more, I highly recommend Tara-Leigh Cobble’s Bible study and book on the Trinity. Those are two great resources if you want to dig in more there. They are linked in the show notes.
So, while we receive good gifts from God the Father (see James 1:17 among many verses about this), and we receive good gifts from the God the Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12 among many verses about this), today is solely focused on God the Son, Jesus, and how the love language of gifts is seen throughout his ministry on Earth.
These eternal and earthly gifts from Jesus show how much he loves us. We’re only looking at two gifts in particular for today’s episode. Let’s quickly define the two types of gifts we’ll look at, and what I mean by eternal and earthly gifts from Jesus:
- Eternal Gift: a gift that sticks with us forever
- Earthly Gift: a gift that is temporary on Earth
#1: Eternal Gift: The Gift of Salvation
First, we’ve got to address one of the most important gifts ever in the history of all things. And no, it’s not a Furby or a Tamagotchi (Remember that craze? Wow). The first of our eternal and earthly gifts from Jesus is the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. There are several verses that talk about how salvation is a gift from Jesus.
I’m going to read the Bible verse that is pretty popular, and you may have heard it. Hint: That’s your sign to memorize this verse! Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This verse is usually grouped with a few other verses called “The Roman Road”, and that walks through salvation in Jesus Christ. Here’s a quick breakdown of the verses. You can dig deeper into that in episode 12 titled “The Most Important Decision of Your Life and the Generational Impacts It Has” for an even deeper dive.
Scripture of the Roman Road
Romans 3:23 says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” It’s no secret that we are naturally inclined to sin. Eek! Don’t let that scare you away from God. In fact, in our sinful state we need to run to God. He’s the only one who can fix it.
Romans 5:8 says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God is love, and because He loves us so much, He meets us in our mess, and chose to sacrifice himself in order to save us. God is so nice!
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Everybody likes a freebie, am I right? God is so nice that the gift of eternal salvation is just that, a gift. It’s free for everybody, all you have to do is accept Him as your Lord and savior.
Romans 8:1 says, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Once you accept Christ as your Lord and savior, He accepts you into His body of believers. The exchange is called redemption, and you can hear all about that in episode 5.
Romans 10:9 says, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Jesus is alive and He reigns forever. He is active, working all things for good. If you have made the most important decision of your life, share it with others. It’s a big deal!
Remember that you can download episode 12 right now wherever you’re listening to this. I explain more there, so feel free to pause this episode, listen to episode 12, and I’ll meet you back here after that.
Gift of Salvation Recap
The first of our eternal and earthly gifts from Jesus is the gift of salvation. I love Romans 6:23 because it’s so clear that salvation cannot be earned. It’s a gift, and it’s absolutely free. We are sinners needing saving and without this gift of salvation, we would be eternally separated from God. I highly encourage you to listen to episode 12 to hear about this more in depth. We’ll dive deeper into this particular gift of salvation in next week’s episode. Let’s keep looking at the ministry of Jesus as we look at gifts that are temporary.
How to Give to Others
Salvation can only happen through Jesus Christ, so how can we pay it forward while we’re here on Earth? Glad you asked. We can do our part of giving our testimony to others by sharing how Jesus has gifted us with salvation.
These five scriptures of the Roman Road can help you clarify your thoughts when you’re explaining salvation to someone. Don’t overcomplicate it! This is also the part where I’m going reemphasize listening to episode 12. I’ll walk you through simple steps on how to explain your faith. Jesus gave us such an incredible gift, and it’s shareable!!! Share how this gift of salvation has changed your life!
#2: Earthly: The Gift of Miracles
The second of our eternal and earthly gifts from Jesus is the gift of miracles. Yes, there are so many types of gifts Jesus gave throughout his ministry, and for niche and perspective’s sake, we’re looking at miracles that are gifts to others.
These particular gifts are ones that we can pay it forward in a way that can point back to the eternal and earthly gifts from Jesus. As Jesus journeyed through his ministry work, he did amazing things. In this portion of the episode we’re going to discuss a couple examples of how Jesus gave gifts as an act of love.
Water into Wine
Let’s talk about Jesus’ first miracle. We’ll be in John 2 if you’re taking notes or reading along in your Bible. This is the miracle of the wedding at Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine. Yes, that sounds like a pretty cool party trick, but there is more to it than just a wedding feast. Back then, the ramifications of running out of wine at a wedding are unforgettably harsh.
It was filled with shame and embarrassment that people did not forget. The embarrassment would follow you around for years, and the story would be passed down. It was also a bad sign that the marriage was in for some hurting in the future.
Think about it like this, remember that mortifying, embarrassing thing that you did in middle school, high school, or college? Now imagine everyone in your town new about it, had first hand experience seeing it, and also told others about it? Imagine anytime you went to apply for a job, make new friends, or move…that story followed you and nobody wanted to be associated with you. Oh, and your marriage is cursed.
Yeah, that sounds awful. In comes Jesus, the hero of good gifts. Instead of this shameful thing happening to these people, he stepped in and turned water into wine. Haunting crisis averted. Through this miracle, Jesus acted out of love and gifted a miracle to help them save face.
Help Others Save Face
How can we pass on the second of the eternal and earthly gifts from Jesus? Help others save face as much as you can. Saving face means you help someone avoid humiliation or embarrassment, and help them preserve their dignity. This can look a variety of ways depending on your life circumstance:
- Gently letting the woman in the Kroger bathroom know that she’s got toilet paper stuck to her shoe before she walks out with her kids in tow.
- Offering the new mom a jacket when she, very publicly, realizes what happens to her upper body when she hears a baby cry.
- When one of the moms on your kid’s team remembers at halftime that it’s her turn for snack, and she forgot. You run up to the concession stand with her and y’all buy everybody sour patch kids and gatorades.
The list goes on. Next time you see someone in a predicament where saving face could be a game changer, think of Jesus and how he helped this family by the gift of saving face.
Jesus Feeds People
We’ll go with one more example today for the eternal and earthly gifts from Jesus with the gift of miracles. We’ll be in Matthew 14 and 15 if you’re playing along at home. Jesus gives the gift of food through his miracle working.
There are two accounts recorded in scripture of Jesus gifting food to a multitude of people. He fed 5,000 people (not counting women and children) over by the Sea of Tiberias. He took what a young boy offered, which was 5 barley loaves and two fish. This was multiplied as a gift. Jesus does this again for 4,000 people (not counting women and children) with seven loaves and two fish. You can read these accounts back to back in Matthew 14 and 15 sometime this week while the story is fresh on your mind.
Here’s a Brooke Breakdown of what’s happening in Matthew 14 up until this point.
- John the Baptist (shout out episode 3) is giving Herod, the ruler of Galilee, the business. He is calling him out BIG TIME for the wicked things he’s doing.
- King Herod ain’t having it, and through a series of events, JTB has a permanent head/body separation, leaving the ones who loved him, deeply saddened.
- Remember, this is Jesus cousin, about 6 month apart from each other. You can hear all about JTB and how amazing he is in episode 3
Here we are, Matthew 14:13-21. I’m going to read the NLT. Keep in mind that Jesus just lost a family member he was extremely close to, the one who got all the people ready to hear about who Jesus is and what he does.
As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered. “Bring them here,” he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!
Matthew 14:13-21
First of all, what?! Jesus just lost his cousin, then turns around and feeds 5,000, potentially whiney, people, after having healed their sick. Jesus is such a good gift giver! Healed them, fed them, and the text says he did it because he had compassion on them.
Compassion. Let me bring my friend Oxford Dictionary back. Compassion is sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. I don’t know about you, but I am eternally grateful for Jesus’ compassion for me and those I care about. Jesus just lost someone he loved, and instead of turning people away, he chose compassion and gave the gift of healing and food.
Between this event and the next mass feeding, Jesus did some things:
- Walks on water
- Teaches about inner purity
- Cast out a demon
- Healed the masses
Now we’re in Matthew 15: 32-39. See if you can find a common theme.
Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.” The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?” Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.” So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
Matthew 15:32-39
Compassion Over Convenience
The compassion Jesus demonstrates through gifting love is incomparable. He consistently shows compassion over convenience, and puts the needs of others above himself. There’s scripture throughout the Bible that talks about taking care of the needs of others and servant leadership. Jesus is, hands down, the best example of servant leadership that will ever exist. So what do we do? Glad you asked. To put it simply, see a need, fill a need. That can look a million different ways:
- Hop on the meal train the next time someone has a big life event (babies, death, surgery, diagnosis, etc). If there’s no meal train, either start one, or send Uber Eats gift cards
- If a mom dragging her wagon full of youth sports equipment, and likely a kid or two, help pick up the caboose when she pops that curb in the parking lot.
- When your kids thinks they’re ready for the cup with no lid and proceeds to spill it three steps in, first, take a deep breath and avoid saying, “I told you so.” Then, help them clean it up and tell them that spills happen to everyone, and all you can do is clean up and try again because that’s the only way to get better at it.
Compassion creates care where convenience can’t. Choose like Jesus.
Podcast Recap
Oh man, y’all. This episode took longer than usual to write, but I’m so glad God pointed me in the right direction. Shout out to all my BCM Insiders who are constantly, and specifically, praying for all the details that go into this ministry. I’m so thankful for y’all and the community we’ve built, thank you, God. If you want to be a BCM Insider where you get the prayer requests of mine and other moms like you, plus the inside scoop on the ministry, head to brookecollier.com and enter your email when prompted. Check that junk folder, and grab your freebie!
Let’s recap this episode 27, Eternal and Earthly Gifts from Jesus:
- The Gift of Salvation- help point people to Christ
- The Gift of Miracles- compassion over convenience
Links from the Show
- Pinterest: Brooke Collier BCM
- Busy Christian Mom Instagram
- Etsy Shop: Busy Christian Mom
- Jesus in the Love Languages Mini Series (ep 25-29)
- Tara-Leigh Cobble’s Trinity Book
- Tara-Leigh Cobble’s Trinity Bible Study
