Gifts

When most of us think of gifts, the first things that come to mind are usually gifts we've enjoyed that have been given to us by people, or by God. In reality, this is a narrow-minded, human view of gifts. A biblical, godly view of gifts is much bigger...

The word gift is defined as "something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation." Usually, we assume that the thing being transferred is something seen as good by the receiving party, and make this part of the definition. This is not always the case, at least not from our point of view.

You see, as humans we only know so much about our lives, even less about other people's lives, and very little about our universe. With such limited knowledge, we can fail to see that a gift might be good, even though it appears bad at that moment. When combined with the fact that a gift could be anything from a cup of water to your very existence, we realize the truth that everything is a gift. God has given us all things. They're all gifts.

"But what about when X bad thing happened to me? How is that a gift from God?" you might ask. Well, all things in this life serve 1 purpose: to increase God's glory. If something accomplishes that purpose, then it's good (not a human version of good, mind you, but true good). If something bad has happened in your life, but through it God received glory, then it was a good gift from God. Maybe it brought you to trust God more, maybe you told someone about it and talked them about God because of what happened, maybe years down the road someone will hear about it and somehow become a believer because of the event. However it happens, if it brings God glory, then it's good.

Now there is a fine line here between what we call "good" and what can be considered "true good." When we think of good, it's with our limited knowledge, our sin nature, and our corrupted morals. This "good" usually revolves around personal gain, whether for yourself or someone else. We generally would agree that someone dying is not good, as the pain and sadness caused by their death can't be outweighed by what someone might gain from it. And yet if their death brings more glory to God, then it was truly good that they died. It's a hard thing to understand, it can be confusing, and it can make people angry, but understanding the differences between human good and true good can change a lot about how we view life.

When we start to see that everything that we have and experience serves to bring glory to God, regardless of whether it seems good or bad to us, we start to live differently. Our focus remains on God more easily. We are more accepting of what comes our way and more thankful for what we have. And as we do, our life starts to bring God more glory than before. We fulfill our purpose.

Here's another thing to think about: God not only gifts you with good things, but also with the very fact that you find them good. Your best friend? Their a gift from God to you. You enjoying them as your best friend? That's also a gift from God.

So as you go about opening Christmas presents and giving gifts to others, consider what gifts God has given to you. And in light of all that you've been given, give joyfully to others.

Godspeed, and Merry Christmas!

- Jason