Gift-Giving Season Is Near, But It’s Always the Season for Spiritual Gifts

Have you noticed how the Christmas hype is building up, especially now that Halloween is out of the way? Yes, Thanksgiving comes first, but it’s basically turkey and pumpkin pie. As far as advertisers are concerned, let’s get on with Christmas. Full speed ahead!

 

There are so many layers to Christmas. First and foremost, of course, is what it’s really all about: the birth of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. That will be the focus for another upcoming post. But when someone says ‘Christmas,’ what else comes to mind? Peppermint sticks. Parties. Frosty the Snowman, and the Grinch. Yuletide carols. Fruitcake. “The Nutcracker.” Santa Claus, Rudolph and the other reindeer. Christmas gifts.

I’m old enough to remember the spectacular Sears Wish Book -- its Christmas catalog. What a treasure. For a youngster, it was a true winter wonderland. Page after page of toys, anything we could imagine. Upon arrival, the catalog had my full attention. Like many other kids, it sparked a Christmas gift list that terrified my parents. ‘We don’t have money for all that!’ Every year the people at Sears Roebuck & Co. produced a savvy marketing tool that induced dreams much better than visions of sugar plums.

 

Then came Christmas morning, with the early wakeup time. Who could sleep with all the anticipation of what the gaily colored gift packages contained? For me, there were cowboy and Indian sets (we weren’t politically correct back then), toy trains, maybe a toy rifle (gun violence wasn’t an issue), games, books, model cars and planes, and the obligatory clothes.

 

But it wasn’t just one-sided. I remember one Christmas I saved up enough money to buy my mom a lighted, framed picture of “The Last Supper.” She loved it. And I loved that she loved it. Receiving and giving gifts made memory upon memory.

 

Have you ever considered that God loves gift-giving, too? He does. Several passages in the Bible describe them. However, these aren’t the kinds of gifts you find in a retailer’s catalog or on the shelves of a department store. No, these are spiritual gifts, and every follower of Jesus Christ is promised at least one. But they’re not baby dolls, Lego sets, electronics, or board games.

 

As the apostle Paul explains in Romans 12:36-8, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

 

Elsewhere the apostle lists other spiritual gifts, including evangelism, apostleship, pastoring, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, speaking in tongues and interpreting them. Some theologians contend there are more kinds of gifts God gives to His people, but the point is He wants each of His children to have gifts uniquely designed for their use.

 

Why does the Lord give these gifts? Paul tells this as well: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).

 

That last statement is the key. Unlike Christmas gifts we receive, they’re not given for our personal benefit alone. The gifts from God are intended “for the common good.” As Paul writes in another of his epistles, these gifts are “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). 

 

The Scriptures compare spiritual gifts to parts of the human body, each of which has a specific purpose to benefit the whole. If you’ve been blessed by the preaching or teaching of individuals expounding on what the Bible says, you’ve benefited from the gifts God has given them. Many of us came to know Christ through people utilizing their gift of evangelism.

 

When I was working with parachurch ministries and non-profits, having to raise my own financial support, the Lord blessed me with a number of generous friends who had the gift of giving. Leadership, service, administration, mercy – we’ve all benefited from people exercising these spiritual gifts.

 

So, over the coming weeks as we view commercial after commercial about the newest and greatest consumer products that you, your family members and friends would love to have, don’t forget about the spiritual gifts God lavishly bestows on His children. The toys, trinkets and clothes we unwrap Christmas morning will one day break or wear out. But God’s spiritual gifts don’t. In fact, the impact of those gifts we use for His glory and the benefit of others will last for eternity.

Never Look a Gift Card in the Mouth

Do you know the most profitable items any retail store can sell? They’re probably gift cards, because often they’re never redeemed. Someone has handed over a chunk of cash to buy someone else a gift they’ll not receive.

It’s estimated that between eight and 10 percent of gift cards go unredeemed. They’re stashed in wallets and forgotten, hidden in drawers, or disposed of accidentally. Every year more than $1 billion in gift cards go unused. That’s a lot of Starbucks coffee, iTunes music and Walmart merchandise never claimed!

Gift cards are valuable - but only if they're used.

Even though we live in a consumer-oriented society, this doesn’t surprise me. I just checked, and I’ve got several unused or only partially used gift cards. They’re nice to have, but sometimes we lose track of them. Out of sight, out of mind. (However, now that I’ve reminded myself, I plan to use them before they slip my mind again.)

One good thing about a forgotten gift card is stumbling across it. It’s like finding buried treasure. It was there all the time; we just didn’t realize it.

You know what’s worse than unexpended gift cards? Unclaimed or unused gifts from God. In the Scriptures, we read about the gift of salvation, His assurance of eternal life: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The apostle Paul wrote to believers in the ancient city of Corinth, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15). Elsewhere he writes about “God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ…” (Romans 5:15).

Unfortunately, this priceless gift is too often treated like a retail gift card that’s been cast aside. People never tap into its potential value, either through ignorance (they don’t know it’s available), neglect (they’ve forgotten about it), or denial (they choose not to receive the gift to apply it to their credit).

What’s exciting is when an individual does discover this gift, at last understanding its worth and eagerly receiving all it entails. It’s that “Wow!” moment many of us still remember, the start of a transformed life we could never have imagined. Much better than finding a long-forgotten gift card neatly tucked away in the sock drawer!

Salvation – once-and-for-all forgiveness, and the promise of life eternal – isn’t the only gift the Scriptures tell us is available. We read also about spiritual gifts, enumerated in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and other passages. These include the gifts of leadership, teaching, mercy, faith, encouragement, giving, serving, and others. We’re told every follower of Christ has at least one spiritual gift, intended to complement the work and service of other members of God’s family, just as the organs of a human body function together in harmony to promote health.

Similar to gift cards, however, the availability of spiritual gifts doesn’t guarantee their usefulness. For this reason, Paul repeatedly exhorted his protégé, Timothy, to be a faithful steward of what God had given him. He wrote, “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery [elders of the church]” (1 Timothy 4:14).

In a second letter to Timothy, Paul repeated the challenge: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands (2 Timothy 1:6). Recipients of the Lord's gifts, we’re to put them into use, making them even more fruitful through practice.

Failing to utilize a gift card is a sad waste, both for the giver and the recipient. Failure to receive God’s far more precious gift – “…the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23) – as well as the spiritual gifts He entrusts to us to serve in advancing His purposes on earth, is worse than a waste. It’s a tragedy beyond words.

Gifts Are For the Giving, Not For the Keeping

If someone were to give you a gift that you would consider of great worth or having tremendous meaning, what would it be?

A car, an expensive piece of jewelry, some new high-tech device, or a special item of clothing? Money? Maybe tickets to a concert by your favorite musical group, or to one of your favorite team’s games? An antique? Perhaps something that reminds you of a loved one?

What do you do with your gifts?

When we receive valuable gifts, we typically view them either as something to put into use or something to store in a safe place where they can be retrieved easily. We typically don’t think of them, however, as something to be given away.

From God’s perspective, however, gifts are quite different. They aren’t intended for holding onto, but rather to be utilized for the benefit of others. The greatest gift, the Scriptures tell us, is that of eternal life and a never-ending relationship with God. As the familiar verse, John 3:16, tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

This gift doesn’t end there, however. That’s just the start. When God comes into our lives, we not only learn to appreciate all He has done for us, but become eager to share this gift with others. Granted, some that profess faith in Jesus seem intent only on persuading others to their way of thinking, but the apostle Paul expressed what our pure motivation should be in offering this gift from God to others: “For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

In addition to this gift of salvation and acceptance into God’s eternal family, the Bible says the Lord gives each of His children specific spiritual gifts intended for use in serving Him and the people He sends our way.

There’s not universal agreement on what these spiritual gifts are, even though Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 list a number of them. These include evangelism, teaching, encouragement (exhortation), giving, leadership, mercy, service (helping), prophecy, wisdom, discernment, and others. Some authorities would add gifts such as creative communication, craftsmanship, and even counseling.

The Bible clearly states not one of us has all of the gifts, but all with genuine faith in Christ have received at least one spiritual gift. It also declares that all gifts are of equal importance, even though we tend to esteem some observable gifts more than others. “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is in Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).

So from God’s viewpoint, the issue is not what our spiritual gifts are, but how – and if – we’re willing to use them. Will we regard them for what they are, precious and of great value, and consciously strive to employ them for the benefit of others?

Early in my walk of faith with Christ, I envied people with visible gifts like evangelism, teaching and leadership. “Why can’t I be like that?” I wondered. Some people I knew regularly met others asking the biblical question, “What must I do to be saved?” I never encountered people like that. I got to know people with substantial financial resources who were unbelievably generous, without hesitation giving to help others – individuals as well as to charitable causes. I would give what I could, but for whatever reason God never entrusted me with great wealth to pass along to others.

Finally I came to recognize the gifts He had given to me. One clue was the repeated opportunities the Lord sent my way to use them. It occurred to me that while I don’t give a lot of thought to my spleen and liver, I really couldn’t get along without them. Similarly, God was telling me He didn’t intend for me to become an evangelist, or a philanthropist. All He wanted me to do was be faithful with what He did give me – what He had called me to be and to do in the body of Christ.

Years ago in the little town of Tomball, Texas, a little old man named Jimmy liked to recite a poem at our weekly service club meetings. It wasn’t necessarily about spiritual gifts, but the message fits:

A song isn’t a song until it’s sung;

A bell isn’t a bell until it’s rung.

Now love wasn’t given into your heart to stay –

For love isn’t love until you give it away.

In the same way, the spiritual gifts God entrusts to us aren’t intended for us to keep. They truly become gifts when we give them away.