Today we turn to another popular statement, ‘It’s not the gift BUT THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS’. The Christian would go further and claim that both the GIFT and the THOUGHT count!

Certainly, God has given to us an amazing gift:
‘For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’, John chapter 3 verse 16.
‘But as many as received Him, to them He GAVE the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name’, John chapter 1 verse 12.

The apostle Paul expressed His appreciation for this gift from God, when he wrote: ‘Thanks be to God for His indescribable GIFT’, 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 15.
Without this gift we were facing the bleak prospect of a lost eternity without hope and without God. Again, Paul writes:
‘Christ Jesus, who GAVE HIMSELF, a ransom for all’, Titus chapter 2 verse 6.
‘Jesus Christ, who GAVE HIMSELF for us, that He might redeem us’, Titus chapter 2 verse 15.

Here then, we have conclusive proof that IT IS THE GIFT (Jesus) THAT COUNTS – no other gift could have done for us what He has done!

The source of this wondrous gift is to be found in God’s THOUGHTS of grace towards us:
God spoke some comforting words to His people in Old Testament times ‘For I know the THOUGHTS that I think toward you, says the Lord, THOUGHTS of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope’, Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11.

The GIFT of His only Son to die on the cross for our sins is evidence of how high God’s thoughts are towards us and to what depths they reached; indeed, they are thoughts of peace, which have given us hope for a bright future ahead! BOTH THE GIFT AND THE THOUGHT COUNT!