“A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.” (Pr 17:8 AV)
The Bible tells us we have many gifts. Salvation is the most referenced. There are other gifts. There is the gift of life. There is the gift of marriage and family. The enjoyment of the blessings of life as a result of labor is a gift. The calling of God and the ability to serve Him is called a gift. There are spiritual gifts given at the point of salvation for which we are endowed for the purpose of giving God the glory. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is also called a gift. The ability to live in righteousness is referred to as a gift. There is the unspeakable gift. Most of all, Jesus Christ says of Himself that He is the gift of God. At some point, gifts can be taken for granted. We possess them long enough or compare our gifts against that of another, we can soon become disillusioned or even unthankful with the gifts bestowed by grace. The reference above says those who gaze at a jewel and turn it, appreciate the value of the gift. In other words, a gift is multi-faceted, and the more we view it from different directions, the more thankful we are at the grace of a loving God who gave it.
Growing up, Christmas time was always a wonderful time of the year. Many traditions come to mind. One of them was gift-opening time. With eleven children in the home, it was interesting, to say the least. The first thing we did was to visit the manger scene to remember what it was we were celebrating. After that, we all traipsed up to the playroom which was a large room above a four car garage. This room was large enough to have a full shuffleboard court, a pool table, a ping-pong table, and a 4’x8’ HO scale model train set. There was plenty of room for us kids to spread out and find our corner. Then the gifts were passed out. We would open them and add them to our stash. For most families, once the gifts were opened, we would remove them to our rooms or places of storage. Not us. We were allowed to keep our pile out in the playroom for a week. As we went from toy to toy, we loved the treasures which came under the tree. As long as they were out and visible, we treasured our gifts. At the end of the week, my father required us to go up to the attic to our storage space, clean out old and unwanted toys, pile those in the center of the playroom, and remove our new things to the storage space. Then we would go through the toys and trade them with a sibling or discard them in the trash. The thing is, as soon as our toys when to the attic, they lost their luster. No longer did they hold the same value as they did when they were out in the open. Out of sight, out of mind, and under-appreciated.
The gifts of God are compared to a precious gem that has been cut into a jewel. As it turns in the light, there is something new about it which makes it valuable. We can look at that gem all day long and still appreciate its worth because the light strikes it differently every time. There are no two observations exactly the same. The same is true of the many gifts God has given. When it ceases to be seen as a gift and becomes a mere possession, we have ceased to look at it in a different light. We can become awfully ungrateful really fast. I can’t tell you how many times I found myself envying my brother’s gifts over mine. I was no longer looking at my gifts from a fresh perspective. Whether it be our families or salvation, all we have is a gift from God and if we become disenchanted, envious, or ungrateful, it is because we have ceased to look at them with a fresh pair of eyes. All gifts are called good gifts. They come from above. They come from a loving and gracious God who does not give substandard gifts to His children. What we need to do is hold up the light of truth which will shine through every angle of our gifts to show us just how precious it is.
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