Gifts and Call
If God had a love language, it would be gift giving.
He gives us the gift of life with our first breath. He gives people to care for us and provide for our needs. God gives us a clean slate to start over, each new day. He gives the entertainment of nature, watching the squirrels play in the yard and listen to the birds sing.
God gives the most precious gifts but how do we repay him for these gifts? We have the opportunity each day to show God our gratitude through our words and actions, but often have blinders on so only see what is in front of us. There are mornings when I hit the floor running, making coffee and checking off the list of tasks for the day; I neglect to pause long enough to look out the window at the colorful sunrise.
When I realize I’ve missed the opportunity to thank God for the gift of the brand-new day, I feel I’ve somehow let God down. I imagine God as a child who just colored a picture for me and is trying to get my attention, “look what I did,” but I’m too focused on my agenda to glance at it. These are moments we don’t get back and when I’m being faithful about pausing to look, I never regret it.
I’ve realized that God doesn’t need a Return Policy. The gifts God gives are things we actually want and need. He doesn’t need a 30 or 60-day guarantee or a try it out to see if you like it kind of scheme. I imagine God’s got a pretty high customer satisfaction rate.
In the world, gifts that we don’t like or don’t want, people re-gift. Since the gifts God gives are ones we want, I think God wants us to re-gift. He wants us to take the gifts we’ve been given and give them away to others. It’s in sharing and giving the gifts God gives that increase the gifts. Giving and sharing the gifts of God cause blessings to multiply like Gremlins!
So how do we share God’s gifts? Make a habit of choosing a specific gift each day to share with others. Perhaps it is the gift of time with a friend in need. Maybe the gift you give is picking up trash from the side of the road or paying for a tank of gas for a stranger. We are faced with opportunities each day to give thanks to God for the gifts He has given by sharing them with others.
I see so many of these gifts shared on Facebook and Instagram, photos of loved ones, cherished moments and beautiful scenery. They post photos of their family on the beach and a colorful sunset, not to make you jealous that they are on vacation, rather because they are filled with so much gratitude to God for the gifts he’s given, they can’t help but share!
Now, God doesn’t give gifts with the expectation of a response. It is not required of us to give God gifts back, though it’s in doing so that we become more aware of the gifts all around us. In turn, we should not give to others with the expectation that they will give to us in return. The example of God, that we give without expectation is sharing from the heart, giving purely out of love.
It’s when you are able to look back on each day and see specific gifts you gave and shared with others that you see you are giving God the ultimate gift; the gift of others seeing him through your life. This is how you can express your gratitude to God for all of the precious gifts he has given; these are moments to cherish!
