Gifts
Today the church office staff gave me a $100 gift certificate good for any performance at the Neil Blaisdell Arena/Auditorium. They want Jeanine and I to enjoy a night out on their dime and with their blessing.
For me, gifts are just that: blessings.
Gifts are a way of saying, "You are important to me and I honor you with this gift and wish you well."
In the Bible Jacob could have blessed his brother Esau by giving him the bowl of soup as a gift. Instead he teasingly offered to sell it to him for his birthright. Esau "despised" that birthright by throwing it away for a mess of lentils.
That birthright was not a blessing for Jacob, either. It had not been gifted to him with any love, appreciation or respect. Neither brother was worthy of it but, through a legal technicality involving deceit, Jacob came out owning the prize and receiving a misdirected blessing from his father. For his trouble he had to flee his brother and family for his life. Some blessing!
The true blessing for Jacob came when, after 14 years, he returned home with two wives, children, servants and flocks of his own. Although he was convinced that his brother would seek revenge on him he was shocked when, instead of a blow to the head, Esau embraced him, forgave him and welcomed him back.
No amount of bribery, no amount of trickery, no amount of deception could have squeezed that forgiveness out of Esau. Nor could it have ever been earned, even with a lifetime of penance, repentance and restitution.
Esau's forgiveness could have only come as a gift of grace; unearned and undeserved. For Jacob, this was the first true blessing he had ever received. It humbled him and changed him completely. Ironically, it was not the blessing he had stolen from his father, Isaac, that unltimately bestowed honor upon him as a patriarch. Instead, it was the free gift of love extended by his brother that set him free to fulfill God's plan in his life.
Every Christmas gift that I give each year, whether to my family, friends or our church elders, deacons, Stephen Ministry team and staff, is intended as a blessing from me to them. With each gift I am saying, "You are important to me, I honor you with this gift and wish you well."
At Christmas we sometimes describe Jesus as God's gift of himself to us. Could it be that God is saying to us, "You are important to me and I honor you with this gift and wish you well?"
Like Jacob, burdened with a heavy load of guilt and sin; by any stretch of the imagination, "unworthy;" we, too, have received forgiveness and a welcome home from God.
No amount of bribery, no amount of trickery, no amount of deception could have squeezed that forgiveness out of God. Nor could it have ever been earned, even with a lifetime of penance, repentance and restitution.
It is a gift. A blessing. Just like Christmas.
For me, gifts are just that: blessings.
Gifts are a way of saying, "You are important to me and I honor you with this gift and wish you well."
In the Bible Jacob could have blessed his brother Esau by giving him the bowl of soup as a gift. Instead he teasingly offered to sell it to him for his birthright. Esau "despised" that birthright by throwing it away for a mess of lentils.
That birthright was not a blessing for Jacob, either. It had not been gifted to him with any love, appreciation or respect. Neither brother was worthy of it but, through a legal technicality involving deceit, Jacob came out owning the prize and receiving a misdirected blessing from his father. For his trouble he had to flee his brother and family for his life. Some blessing!
The true blessing for Jacob came when, after 14 years, he returned home with two wives, children, servants and flocks of his own. Although he was convinced that his brother would seek revenge on him he was shocked when, instead of a blow to the head, Esau embraced him, forgave him and welcomed him back.
No amount of bribery, no amount of trickery, no amount of deception could have squeezed that forgiveness out of Esau. Nor could it have ever been earned, even with a lifetime of penance, repentance and restitution.
Esau's forgiveness could have only come as a gift of grace; unearned and undeserved. For Jacob, this was the first true blessing he had ever received. It humbled him and changed him completely. Ironically, it was not the blessing he had stolen from his father, Isaac, that unltimately bestowed honor upon him as a patriarch. Instead, it was the free gift of love extended by his brother that set him free to fulfill God's plan in his life.
Every Christmas gift that I give each year, whether to my family, friends or our church elders, deacons, Stephen Ministry team and staff, is intended as a blessing from me to them. With each gift I am saying, "You are important to me, I honor you with this gift and wish you well."
At Christmas we sometimes describe Jesus as God's gift of himself to us. Could it be that God is saying to us, "You are important to me and I honor you with this gift and wish you well?"
Like Jacob, burdened with a heavy load of guilt and sin; by any stretch of the imagination, "unworthy;" we, too, have received forgiveness and a welcome home from God.
No amount of bribery, no amount of trickery, no amount of deception could have squeezed that forgiveness out of God. Nor could it have ever been earned, even with a lifetime of penance, repentance and restitution.
It is a gift. A blessing. Just like Christmas.
posted by Bird of Paradise at 8:09 PM
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