A fun benefit of having several daughters is that they enjoy talking. Girl talk. Looooong conversations. Giggles. Sitting around the table laughing, telling stories, and yes, even revealing prized secrets.
The secrets would remain secrets if their keepers didn’t trust those around them. Disappointments, plans, and dreams would remain private. And yet, at the table, people talk. They confide in those they trust. I cherish those moments around the table.
As believers, we sometimes take for granted the gift God has given by revealing Himself to us. Jesus didn’t reveal Himself to everyone. He spoke briefly with authority to Pontius Pilate, but there came a point when He gave no answer (John 19:9). There were times when He was silent before His accusers (Mark 14:60-61).
He didn’t explain the meaning of His parables to the teeming crowds or religious leaders of the day, the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 13:10-13, 34-35), and yet Jesus patiently explained them to His disciples. He spoke openly with tax collectors at their tables. He spent time by the well, talking with a woman He had never met. He lingered in the homes of friends.
When the disciples asked why He explained the parables to them but not others, Jesus responded, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:10-13).
He entrusts us with the mysteries of the Kingdom. He intimately reveals Himself to us. He lingers at our tables, trusts us with His Word, and opens our eyes to heavenly secrets. Do we realize how precious it is that God reveals Himself, His ways, and His purposes to us? To you? Do we take that for granted?
As Dr. Henry M. Morris III says in his article this month, Jesus was the “greatest gift ever given” (“Gifting, a Biblical Perspective,” pages 5-7). Jesus offers Himself—His very presence—to those who seek Him. Enjoy the gift of God’s presence this Christmas. Spend time around His table and cherish the moments with Him. I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!
* Jayme Durant is Executive Editor at the Institute for Creation Research.
