John 17:8-12 Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life that you conferred as a gift through me…

Jesus consistently refers to life through Him as being something different than ordinary living… and not only is it considered different but it’s also considered a gift… a gift from a Holy Father. 

Andrew Murray wrote once, “We are to do by choice what animals do by nature.” 

By nature animals trust their Creator. They do not spend their lives seeking validation, justification, protection, or contentment.

Matthew 7:26 Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. 

The gift given through Jesus from our Holy Father is that we can personally know the Creator… Because we couldn’t come to Him because of our wicked nature, He came to us. He revealed His love to us and gave us a means to restore a broken relationship with the Creator. And I truly believe that once God’s True Character is revealed to us, we will want nothing more than to be His. That is why satan works so hard at keeping us distracted from Who is Good. He knows we will never go back to the fettered life after we taste and see the Lord’s goodness. (Psalm 134:8)