Gifts?

Anyone who knows me knows  that I am easily entertained by a funny graphic on a t-shirt. One of my favorites from years' past is one of Gandhi getting a gift. He's saying, "An empty box! My favorite!" I always enjoyed Gandhi's implication of the needlessness of so much of the clutter that makes up and sometimes over-takes our lives. Sometimes, the empty box is welcomed. It offers us much more potential. The tabula rasa--blank slate gives us the opportunity to create or fill our lives not with the pre-selected items, but rather with options to figure out what truly matters.

It's incredibly easy for us to get caught up in the stuff of life. The same carries over to our spiritual lives if we're not mindful. In Isaiah 29:13 it states: "The Lord says, 'These people come near  to me with their mouth and honor me with  their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.'" We need to be thoughtful in our places of worship. Unfortunately, too many churches are based on "gifts" these days--gifts of comfy, theater-style seating, top-notch performers, everything but the gospel and all of its hard-hitting truths. These showplaces sometimes seem to resemble entertainment venues more than places of solemn worship; like the "shifting shadows" in Isaiah, they will also come and go. It seems that anything that tends to be overly magnanimous by our earthly standards, tends to lead us away from our spiritual focus. Many religions follow the tenet of warning of the difficulties of maintaining a strong spiritual life and reaping the spiritual gifts if too caught up in the limitations of materialism. Many times the solitude of nature is the most spiritual hallowed ground--grass for our seat, birdsong for our music, and meditation one-to-one with our God. How comforting to know that "Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change (like shifting shadows)."--James 1:17 Those are true gifts.

What are gifts we can give to others? How about being "quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry," (James 1:19) What gifts can we give to show our obedience to God? "....getting rid of the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accepting the word planted in you which can save you." (James 1:21) Our gifts are already within us just waiting for us to recognize them. Loving one another? The greatest gift of all.

Christ, (during his time with his disciples) reminded them (and us) that we needn't keep our sights small when it comes to heavenly gifts. In the short time before his betrayal and crucifixion, he told them that he would soon be leaving the Earth in his current form as a result of man's intolerance of the truths he brought to light. He explained to them, "Unless I go away, the counselor will not come to you" (John 16:7). Gifts given to us beyond our wildest dreams. Christ giving up his life so we may have eternal life; Christ making way through his death, for God's love to come to us in even a stronger sense.

Gifts? Realize the limitations of the world's gifts. As great as they seem to us now, they many times come with a price. Want a true gift beyond description?  Bask in the infiniteness of God and Christ's gifts to us.

Peace be with you.