The Sharing of Gifts

Every time I walk into my nearby Walgreen’s, I am reminded by Hallmark what holiday is “in” for celebration and giving. If you get into the Hallmark tradition, would you become a constant giver of material things? After a brief nod at New Year’s, you move into Valentine’s Day, then St. Patrick’s Day, then Easter, then Mother’s Day, then Father’s Day, into a brief summer free of Hallmark Days, then into Halloween and a quick nod at Thanksgiving, already surrounded by Christmas!

The questions that keep coming up in my mind are twofold. Are these the kinds of gifts that God would have us share? And, do we need a “holiday” to just give gifts of ourselves, or is this an everyday part of being a Christian?

To answer the first question, we have but to look to God as the ultimate giver. We start with God the Creator, who created all of creation. And, within that creation, the creation of humankind, with the ability to think and the ability to feel and most of all, the freedom to do the same: to enable us to understand the greatness of His love. He placed constant reminders of His presence and power in our lives. We need only to enjoy the beauty of a sunset to be aware of the beauty of creation. We look at the majesty of the mountains and know the majesty of God. We look at the oceans and seas and see His overwhelming power and love. All of these are reminders of God’s love which transcends the physicality of creation and is planted within each one of us.

If all of this is not enough, God gave us the gift of Himself in His son, Jesus Christ, to live in our world. He came to show us how He would have us live and to teach us about God’s love. He came to heal God’s people. Then God showed His ultimate love for us and sacrificed Jesus for us on the cross that our sins might be forgiven and followed with the resurrection of Jesus, that we might have the hope for eternal life.

Our Part of the Action

Having seen the gifts we have from God, having the realization, as followers of God and Jesus Christ, that these gifts are there for us to use and to guide us and share with others, does it take a Hallmark moment for us to act? Can we, with all these gifts at hand to share, really think that our part of the action is only an occasional thing? No!

We may each have special gifts we can share every day of our lives no matter where we may be. I would suggest, however, that there are some gifts we all have that we can add to those. Some may need cultivation. Some may make us step out of our comfort zone.

To aid us in our gift sharing, we always have Jesus at our side. We have His example to follow. We have His love in our hearts to strengthen us.

Let us look then at some of those gifts which we have within us that we can share as conduits of God’s love.

God’s Love

Each one of us has experienced God’s love. It may have been that feeling within that has lifted us up when we were troubled and enabled us to move forward. God was there for us. Or it may have been that overwhelming swelling up of joy and love at a time of success. If we recognize in our hearts that God’s love was within us and acting for us, we now can share this gift with others. Walk into St. James at any given time and you will feel it from everyone you meet.

We can share the joy we feel from knowing we have Jesus in our hearts. Dick, a 29-year volunteer at The Gathering reminds the volunteers of the importance of their smiles in the lives of our guests. With our smiles we project the joy we have serving them and sharing the time we are with them.

We can give the gift of hope that grows within us as we strengthen our faith. As we live our lives with hope, we show others that they, too, can have the gift of hope.

Listening Hearts

We can share the gift of a listening heart. God listens to our prayers. We all have times when we need someone to listen. Just as God listens to us, we can be there to listen and in listening share our love and understanding.

Just as Jesus sent His disciples out to serve, we, too, know that we are called to share our gifts in service to others.

We Can Share God’s Presence

God is present in our lives 24/7. We feel His presence. We are reassured by this presence. We also can be present in the lives of others. Being there to stand by others in times of need assures them they are not alone.

None of these gifts is designated for a special day. None of these gifts call you to a “Hallmark moment”. By their very nature they are always a part of every day of our lives. By their nature we are constantly cultivating them as we grow in our faith.

The best reminder that we have to keep God’s gifts a part of our lives is not a card but that word we feel in our hearts that needs to be filled and our lives refreshed.

Deacon Ned Howe