Present

I am present in the present tense, but am I a present to anyone? I cannot present myself well enough to the public if I am not clear on who I really am. To be present to another is vital for life. Noone is an island. Present present present. If I am not present I am not. If I am not present I could as well be dead. Let people know you are present. Presently. You are a present to your neighbors, You have to believe that. It is not a haughty self promotion, it is a reality in social life. Then be as observant and as considerate as you can to be that precious present.

Hope

"I hope for rain tomorrow; my lawn is yellow from draught". But I am not certain it is going to rain. The worldly hope has its root in sin, we hope for a better world in the near or distant future. But because sin reigns we cannot be certain.
When Paul writes about faith, hope and love in 1Corinthians 13:13 it is the hope God gives. God cannot lie, so if He gives hope, it is a sure thing. Hope is fulfilled, God is to be praised!
The Christian hope is anchored in God's love and in faith in God. We may not doubt God, but hold fast in the hope He gives. All that the Lord does has it basis in love, His love which never fails. Love is the greatest, says Paul. For God is love.
Without love no faith and no hope. We would be lost and forever doomed to live in our sinful self, pityful and detestable. Hope gives future a meaning, as does faith in God and His love. It gives me such comfort, a warm feeling, something to stay alive for and something to die for. I am grateful that I am so much loved although I never deserved to be. Hope is the result of God's decision for us!

Gift

What do you give to the man/woman who has everything? A common question to be posed - and a question to be posed to people of this world who believe to have it all; even heaven itself!
Before I was saved I did not think I had it all, but I was certain that I had heaven before me; that happy ever after in the sky. After my salvation I slowly learned that I did not have it all, and that my natural expectation of being heaven bound was vain and presumptious without guarantees.
The realization that I had presumed wrongly about my eternal citizenship came gradually. The first sensation and realization that Jesus brought me was that Jesus loves me and is alive in me and my world. It was a completely unexpected gift. A foretaste of heaven inside me.
By reading the Bible I learned about my sinful nature and how lost I am without Jesus. I learned that the gift of grace, freedom from sin, salvation,and heaven is the greatest gift of all. And I am awestricken!
I have also learned that the first year's sensation is not something I can expect here. I am on a travel in enemy territory, and it is not always a pleasure. But the gift of faith makes the travel possible and worthwile. I have learned that all I have is Jesus, and that He has promised to be with me eternally.
The gift of heaven is being unwrapped during my walk, and I have learned and will experience that this gift is incomprehensible, that I will never receive any greater gift. Heaven equals Jesus, Jesus equals love. The perfect gift!