Thursday, December 31, 2009
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Verse of the Week...
‘Freely you have received, freely give.’ –Matthew 10:8b
With Christmas come and gone, another season marked by celebration and gift-giving has passed with it. Presents have been opened and are now a new, active part of their recipient’s life, or are shelved deep in what’s left for storage space in the bedroom closet, or returned for something more desirable, perhaps more ‘fitting,’ if you know what I mean. Though I often write about giving, the concept, especially this time of year, is difficult to elude. And so as it is out in the open, conceptually, there is no better instance to examine it at its roots.
What is it to give? Have you ever pondered that, thought about what makes giving, giving? I recently have and am both convinced and convicted by what I’ve concluded, for there are distinct attributes to the practice, ones I realize haven’t necessarily accompanied my ‘gifts,’ or my ‘giving.’ To give, then, is to willingly offer something to someone else at cost to you. Read that again. Giving involves an act of the will (not many argue this), but for it to truly be a gift, it also must cost the giver: time, money, energy, whatever. Basically, a gift ceases to be just that if there is no sacrifice, so that the extent to which something is a gift is the extent to which the giving of it costs.
Perhaps a couple examples will elucidate. Wanting to give a special gift to a family member, one they’d remember and cherish forever, he thought long and hard, and after contemplating to the point of confiscating the balance of his free time, he came up with the perfect thing. He immediately grabbed his coat and rushed out the door, not wanting to waste another moment for someone else to snatch it up. He went to the store where he thought he’d find it but, upon searching the aisles high and low, his head drooped as he exited empty-handed. But he wouldn’t give up. He got back in his car and thought about where else this prized item could be purchased. Another retailer came to mind and he was off again. Upon arriving to this store, he zipped inside and, to make an already long story short, he found what he was looking for, he bought it, wrapped it, and presented it. His family member opened it. Their eyes lit up, then teared up. It was completely unexpected, completely meaningful, completely what they’d wanted. It was a gift they wouldn’t soon forget. And it cost him all of $1.99.
Another example: it was the holiday season, just a few days before Christmas Day, and snow was coming. Lots of snow. In the estimation of Midwesterners alike, all the land was about to get ‘dumped on.’ Now there was an employee, relatively new to a business, father of a beautiful infant daughter, husband of a doting wife, who planned to make it home for these holidays. He wanted to see his extended family, he wanted to make his daughter’s first Christmas as special as he could and, let’s face it, he desperately wanted to show off his lovely little lady to all who would see her. Their departure was scheduled for the following morning, after one last shift at the business and a long night of packing. But there was a problem. Snow was coming. He knew it, but he wasn’t about to try to get out of work, especially considering his lack of tenure. Now his boss, who had a family gathering of her own to get to, overheard this employee’s travel plans. In fact, everyone heard of it, as this employee, unable to contain his excitement, couldn’t stop talking about it. Back to his boss. She was, apparently, a crackpot meteorologist (aren’t we all?); she knew snow was coming too and travel would be near impossible (she was correct, by the way). So she called up this employee and told him not to worry about his shift that night; she’d cover it so he could get a jump on the weather, beat the impending blizzard home, and make his daughter’s first Christmas especially memorable (at least for him and his family).
These two examples share a common thread: both are depictions of true giving. Both were done with a willing heart and both gifts were given at a cost to the giver, though one was a mere $1.99 and the other had no monetary price tag at all. So the question is, how often do we ‘give’ unwillingly or begrudgingly, or ‘give’ without real sacrifice? If it’s me we’re looking at, far too often. Maybe others don’t notice, but my heart does; it makes a conscious choice to withhold, and every time it does, it deadens just a bit more. There are times, too, when I do give, but do so out of guilt or obligation or without purity of heart. And the recipient may not even notice. But my point is this, those instances aren’t, and shouldn’t be, defined as giving whatsoever because they lack the two characteristics necessarily a part of true giving. So here’s a trustworthy saying, deserving of acceptance: ‘To give truly is to willingly give at cost; to do anything else or otherwise—the gift, and its giving, are lost.’
One final example: ‘For God so loved the world, that He [willingly] gave His ONLY Son, that whoever would believe in Him would have eternal life.’ (John 3:16, parenthesis and italics mine) This is the best gift ever given or received. And, no surprise, it’s the matchless example of true giving. God gave, of His own accord, at unparalleled cost. The Giver of all givers willfully, out of love, sent an undeserving world His only begotten, He alone who could save. What a statement. What a gift. What a model of giving to emulate.
If not the first two, maybe this last example will help us give more truly, or truly give—with a willing, pure heart, at real cost. Oh, and by the way, the verse, now WAY above, underscores one more necessary point: ‘Freely you have received, freely give.’ All that we have—our time, our money, our skills and talents and personality, our possessions, our very life—are gifts given us by the hand of our abundantly gracious God. Let us forever keep for, or to ourselves, none of them.
Grace to you,
Voice of another
With Christmas come and gone, another season marked by celebration and gift-giving has passed with it. Presents have been opened and are now a new, active part of their recipient’s life, or are shelved deep in what’s left for storage space in the bedroom closet, or returned for something more desirable, perhaps more ‘fitting,’ if you know what I mean. Though I often write about giving, the concept, especially this time of year, is difficult to elude. And so as it is out in the open, conceptually, there is no better instance to examine it at its roots.
What is it to give? Have you ever pondered that, thought about what makes giving, giving? I recently have and am both convinced and convicted by what I’ve concluded, for there are distinct attributes to the practice, ones I realize haven’t necessarily accompanied my ‘gifts,’ or my ‘giving.’ To give, then, is to willingly offer something to someone else at cost to you. Read that again. Giving involves an act of the will (not many argue this), but for it to truly be a gift, it also must cost the giver: time, money, energy, whatever. Basically, a gift ceases to be just that if there is no sacrifice, so that the extent to which something is a gift is the extent to which the giving of it costs.
Perhaps a couple examples will elucidate. Wanting to give a special gift to a family member, one they’d remember and cherish forever, he thought long and hard, and after contemplating to the point of confiscating the balance of his free time, he came up with the perfect thing. He immediately grabbed his coat and rushed out the door, not wanting to waste another moment for someone else to snatch it up. He went to the store where he thought he’d find it but, upon searching the aisles high and low, his head drooped as he exited empty-handed. But he wouldn’t give up. He got back in his car and thought about where else this prized item could be purchased. Another retailer came to mind and he was off again. Upon arriving to this store, he zipped inside and, to make an already long story short, he found what he was looking for, he bought it, wrapped it, and presented it. His family member opened it. Their eyes lit up, then teared up. It was completely unexpected, completely meaningful, completely what they’d wanted. It was a gift they wouldn’t soon forget. And it cost him all of $1.99.
Another example: it was the holiday season, just a few days before Christmas Day, and snow was coming. Lots of snow. In the estimation of Midwesterners alike, all the land was about to get ‘dumped on.’ Now there was an employee, relatively new to a business, father of a beautiful infant daughter, husband of a doting wife, who planned to make it home for these holidays. He wanted to see his extended family, he wanted to make his daughter’s first Christmas as special as he could and, let’s face it, he desperately wanted to show off his lovely little lady to all who would see her. Their departure was scheduled for the following morning, after one last shift at the business and a long night of packing. But there was a problem. Snow was coming. He knew it, but he wasn’t about to try to get out of work, especially considering his lack of tenure. Now his boss, who had a family gathering of her own to get to, overheard this employee’s travel plans. In fact, everyone heard of it, as this employee, unable to contain his excitement, couldn’t stop talking about it. Back to his boss. She was, apparently, a crackpot meteorologist (aren’t we all?); she knew snow was coming too and travel would be near impossible (she was correct, by the way). So she called up this employee and told him not to worry about his shift that night; she’d cover it so he could get a jump on the weather, beat the impending blizzard home, and make his daughter’s first Christmas especially memorable (at least for him and his family).
These two examples share a common thread: both are depictions of true giving. Both were done with a willing heart and both gifts were given at a cost to the giver, though one was a mere $1.99 and the other had no monetary price tag at all. So the question is, how often do we ‘give’ unwillingly or begrudgingly, or ‘give’ without real sacrifice? If it’s me we’re looking at, far too often. Maybe others don’t notice, but my heart does; it makes a conscious choice to withhold, and every time it does, it deadens just a bit more. There are times, too, when I do give, but do so out of guilt or obligation or without purity of heart. And the recipient may not even notice. But my point is this, those instances aren’t, and shouldn’t be, defined as giving whatsoever because they lack the two characteristics necessarily a part of true giving. So here’s a trustworthy saying, deserving of acceptance: ‘To give truly is to willingly give at cost; to do anything else or otherwise—the gift, and its giving, are lost.’
One final example: ‘For God so loved the world, that He [willingly] gave His ONLY Son, that whoever would believe in Him would have eternal life.’ (John 3:16, parenthesis and italics mine) This is the best gift ever given or received. And, no surprise, it’s the matchless example of true giving. God gave, of His own accord, at unparalleled cost. The Giver of all givers willfully, out of love, sent an undeserving world His only begotten, He alone who could save. What a statement. What a gift. What a model of giving to emulate.
If not the first two, maybe this last example will help us give more truly, or truly give—with a willing, pure heart, at real cost. Oh, and by the way, the verse, now WAY above, underscores one more necessary point: ‘Freely you have received, freely give.’ All that we have—our time, our money, our skills and talents and personality, our possessions, our very life—are gifts given us by the hand of our abundantly gracious God. Let us forever keep for, or to ourselves, none of them.
Grace to you,
Voice of another
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