7.25.2008

Spiritual Blessings

What are the greatest spiritual gifts you've ever received? I don't mean spiritual gifts like "how has God gifted you to serve Him?". I mean what are the most valuable things in your life you've received that either drew you closer to God or strengthened your spirit?

It's a tough question at first, but if I were to name my top 3, they would be:
  1. Godly parents. - I have to admit this one wasn't obvious to me at first, but the more I thought about it the more I realized this one has had the greatest spiritual influence on me. I don't know why God decided to bless me with parents who are 100% committed to Him, but I'm thankful He did.
  2. Books. - Obviously, the Bible. But Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel really helped me understand grace. Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Church helped me love the church. I could go on and on...
  3. Children. - My kids have definitely helped me understand God a little better. They bring me joy, frustration, pride, pain, unconditional love, worry, and so much more. Everything I'm sure that the Father feels toward me.
What's your list look like?

1 comment:

Mookie said...

1. My wife, Dani- Without God's lessons and spirit about her, she surely would've left me by now.

2. My children- for essentially all the same reasons you listed

3. My immune system- In this day and age of proliferating illnesses, and the "necessary" medications to combat these, God has blessed me with the ablity to fight off everything from serious illness to common colds before they even start, despite abusing my body through bad habits. It is a testament to creating people in His image, that while we are far from perfect, we have a rather resilient system that borders on perfection as far as humans can be concerned. And that our faith in Him, that he will help us in our fight here on earth if we only truly believe with all our heart and mind, even physical maladies.