Have you ever gotten someone a really special gift? If so, did you think, “I sure hope they appreciate this…” Maybe more than that have you thought, “they better not let this gift go to waste…” Or maybe, “I hope they get a lot of use out of this…” Or even, “I hope they take good care of this gift.” I don’t think that’s abnormal. In a way we are probably associating their response to the gift as a response to us as the one who gave the gift. This is undoubtedly unhealthy if it influences whether or not we continue to give gifts if their response isn’t up to par with our expectations or hopes. But I do think we are reflecting the ultimate gift giver in a way.

In reality, our response to God’s gifts are a resflection of our attitude towards God Himself. Most importantly, our response to His greatest gift, Himself in the form of Christ Jesus, shows our love and devotion and gratitude. What I mean by response is whether or not we cherish the gift and express thankfulness through the way we live. I think that we should express it both to God and to others. I mean, I’ve been given some awesome things in life and I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it and I certainly couldn’t contain my thankfulness towards the gift giver. However, over time, years even, the level of joy the gift gave wore off. I grew accustomed to having the gift or perhaps became distracted by other things in life. My point is, I lost focus and perspective.

When it comes to God’s blessings in life, and mostly salvation in Christ, we can’t afford to lose that focus. We can’t grow accustomed to the point where we take it for granted. We can’t stop taking great care of that most precious gift. We need to maintain that thankfulness so we can keep fueling that burning desire inside to shout it to the world. Fortunately, God doesn’t give gifts based on merit and certainly doesn’t stop if we don’t make full use of those He’s already given. If He did, none of us would be blessed and definitely none of us would be saved. 

I think all of this is very important to remember whenever we give gifts to others. If they don’t care for it or appreciate it like they should, it’s their loss but it will not deter me from giving all I can. Because we give because we love and God gives because He loves. And really, unless we’ve made the most of God’s grace in our lives we have no room to talk. So let’s give and love without expectation and pray that the Holy Spirit lights the fire of passion for the Greatest of all Gift Givers and the greatest of all gifts!

“God so loved the world that He gave is one and only Son, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16