If you could only give one gift to Jesus Christ what would it be? What kind of gift would He want? Jesus said, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" Mark 8:34.
Our Savior wants us to come unto Him, to repent, and be cleansed through His Atonement that we may live with Him and our Heavenly Father for all eternity. The very best gift we could give to Jesus Christ would be to change a part of ourselves that is not in harmony with Christ's teachings. Here is my list of top 10 spiritual gifts we could give to our Savior.
I believe it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to give of ourselves unless we first have a humble heart. It takes humility to change ourselves, and unless we recognize our own nothingness it will be very hard to give a true gift of ourselves to our Savior.
If you find yourself struggling to give up a sin or weakness, or lack a strong enough desire or motivation to truly give of yourself then turning to the Lord and asking for humility might be the right gift for you to give at this time.
To get you started here are 10 ways to have humility.
When we are sufficiently humble it is easier to accept that we have sins and weaknesses we need to repent of. What sin or weakness have you justified for too long?
What of all your sins would be the greatest gift you could give to Jesus by giving it up? Repentance is usually a process, but unless we take the first step to repent and start walking down the strait and narrow path (see 2 Nephi 31:14-19) we will continue to go in circles on the cycle of sin and wickedness.
To give the spiritual gift of repentance start today by reading about the steps of repentance. Also, you may need help repenting.
To serve God is to serve others and the gift of serving others is one of the greatest spiritual gifts we can give to our Savior, Jesus Christ. He taught that:
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
As we put forth the time and effort it takes to serve others we are really putting that time and effort into serving our Lord.
To help you give the gift of service to Jesus Christ here are 15 ways to serve God by serving others.
If you are new to prayer or have not prayed in a long time then perhaps the gift of prayer would be the perfect gift to give Christ.
From the Bible Dictionary on prayer:
As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part ( Matt. 7: 7-11).Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship
If you already pray on a regular basis then choosing to pray with more sincerity and real intent might be the perfect gift for you to give to the Savior.
Take your first step in giving the spiritual gift of prayer by reviewing this article on how to pray with sincerity and real intent.
The scriptures, as the word of God, are one of the greatest ways we can know what God would have us do. If we were to give a gift to the Savior would not He want us to read His words and keep His commandments? If you do not regularly study the word of God then now is the right time to give the gift of regular scripture study to the Savior, Jesus Christ.
In the Book of Mormon we are warned:
Wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God!
We are also taught that the word of God can be compared to planting a seed within our heart.
Find a multitude of scripture study resources including 10 ways to study the word of god and other scriptures study techniques. Get started with basic guidelines for gospel study.
If you have worked and worked to give of yourself to the Savior in a specific area but have struggled to achieve your goal then maybe making and achieving your goal once and for all would be the perfect gift for you to focus on at this time.
Jesus Christ loves you, He suffered for you, He died for you, and He wants you to be happy. If there is something in your life that is keeping you from experiencing a fullness of joy then now is the time to turn your life over to the Lord and accept His help in making and achieving your goals because they are His goals too.
See these resources to start making and keeping a goal as your gift to the Savior today:
Having faith in Jesus Christ during the serious trials of life can sometimes be very difficult for us to do. If you are struggling with a trial right now then making the choice to trust the Lord would be a wonderful spiritual gift to give the Savior.
We often need help in giving Christ the gift of faith, especially during our trials, so do not miss these resources in overcoming adversity including how to deal with stress, have hope, and fortify oneself by putting on the armor of God.
Continually gaining knowledge as a lifetime learner is one of those Christlike Attributes that we need to develop throughout our lives and makes an excellent gift we can give our Savior.
If we stop learning we will stop progressing, and without progress we cannot return to live with our Savior and Heavenly Father. If we have stopped learning about God, His plan, and His will then now is the perfect time to repent and start again by choosing to become a lifetime learner.
If you choose to give Christ the spiritual gift of continually gaining knowledge start by learning how to personally apply the truth and how to prepare for personal revelation.
Another great spiritual gift we can give to the Savior is to gain a testimony of a gospel principle, meaning we come to know for ourselves that something is true. To gain a testimony we must first trust the Lord and put our faith in Him by believing in what we have been taught, and then acting upon it. As James taught, "faith without works is dead," (James 2:26), so too we must exercise our faith by acting in faith if we are to come to know that something is true.
Some of the basic gospel principles you could gain (or strengthen) a testimony of include:
One of the most important gifts I believe we should give to our Savior is our gratitude. We should giving thanks to God for all that He has done (and continues to do) for us because everything we are, everything we have, and everything we will be and have in the future all comes from Him.
Start giving the gift of thanks by reading these quotes on gratitude.
Giving a spiritual gift to our Savior does not mean you have to be perfect in everything right now but it does mean to do your very best. When you stumble pick yourself back up, repent, and continue to move forward. Our Savior loves us and accepts any and every gift we give, no matter how small or humble it may be. As we give Christ the gift of ourselves we will be the ones who are blessed.