The Gift of Love

The Gift of Love

It is not whether our gifts are appreciated but whether they are given with love that counts.

One of the great Christmas and love stories is The Gift of the Magi by O’Henry. You can find this short story by going to http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/9352/christmas-ohenry.html

In the Gift of the Magi there is a young poor couple. Della has beautiful long hair and Jim has a gold pocket watch of which he is proud.

One Christmas, they have no money. As it happened, Della sells her long, lovely hair to buy a platinum pocket watch fob for her young husband. Her husband Jim has sold his gold pocket watch to purchase beautiful combs for the wonderful hair of his beloved wife.

The greatness of the gift is measured in the giving of the gift not the receiving of it.

The Bible says that it is better to give than to receive. This is true.

I think about some of the great gifts that surround me.

Sometimes those gifts are embodied in the love of a woman for a man or a man for a woman where that love is given as a gift. Sometimes the depth of that love and fineness of that gift is unappreciated by the recipient. The greatness however in the gift is measured in the giving, not in the receiving.

Likewise, an employee gives of his emotion, time and effort for his company. Can that emotion, time and effort ever truly be compensated by mere money. Unfortunately, no. Their commitment, in part, defines them. Again it is the giving of the gift that defines both the giver and the recipient. It measures them and who they are.

On Memorial Day we celebrate those soldiers who have given their lives for their comrades, their families, their country and the freedoms found in that country. The gift of their lives defines them and our response to their precious gift sometimes unfortunately defines us. It is not about a day off or holiday time with our family; it is about a precious gift given in blood. As Jesus said: No man loves greater than when giving up his life for his brother.

The gift of a perfect life, blood not contaminated with sin and evil, is a gift of the rarest kind. This is much more precious than the Gift of the Magi written about above. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son….” Again the greatness is in the giving of such a precious gift. The act of giving defines the Giver. And it is the nature of the Giver that defines the gift. Whether we receive the great gift defines us and who we are.

Everyday God surrounds us with beauty. This beauty may be sunrises, sunsets, flowers, gentle rains, the love of a family member or others and selfless acts. They given as rare and precious gifts to us. The fact that they are given defines the giver. The fact as to whether they are received or not defines the recipient.