Receiving The Gift
$5 gift exchanges are a challenge. Here’s my approach: Rather than looking for a random, boring, cheap gift, I search for what might be meaningful, or usable. My husband rolls his eyes, because after I get the right gift and package it with a cute card, wrapping, and a special little treat to go along with it, the $5 gift turns out to be a $15 gift. But in my mind, it’s totally worth it, because “it’s better to give than to receive.”
It’s so true, right? Whether it’s a $5 gift, or a well-thought-out Christmas present. It feels good to give someone a great gift that they value! To see the smile on the other person’s face, because they feel the love you put into the gift. Or maybe, a tear comes out of them and you know you totally scored then! Maybe you get to hear them say, “how did you know?” and they realize they’ve been paid attention to and noticed.
Recently, I sent my friend a surprise gift that was unique for her and this was her response: “You always know the perfect gifts to give. Thank you for being the friend that is so intentional and thoughtful.”
Thanks to responses like that, I keep searching for great gifts!
As much as a great gift can be a blessing to give, consider the other side of the coin: What if…what if there was no receiver? No one to receive the blessing that you’ve worked so hard to give. The giving, then, has no meaning. It’s like handing someone a gift, expecting them to accept it with joy and adoration, but their hands don’t reach out to receive it when you let it go. So, you watch it fall and shatter. It can be heartbreaking.
I’ve actually experienced this several times throughout the last year or so and have come to realize, not everyone is meant to receive from you. Many times, we put time and thought into getting a great gift, writing an uplifting encouragement, throwing confetti to celebrate others, and saying out loud the greatness we see, expecting the smiles or happy response, yet they don’t receive it or allow it to penetrate their heart. Like an unwanted gift, it shatters on the floor, leaving you wondering, why?
Read Luke 2:10-11 with me: “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
Jesus is the greatest gift of all time. He brought good news of great joy, and he came for all people! The only thing is, not all people will receive him - his love, joy, peace, and salvation. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him (John 1:11). What an intentional gift, our Savior wrapped as baby. He chose the humblest way to come to us, born in a trough where horses and cattle eat from. He came to give us life and by his death he paid our ransom.
Can you imagine being Jesus, knowing you hold the greatest gift of all time, and some people will never choose to unwrap it? They’ll look at it and maybe wonder what’s inside but will never reach out their hands to receive it. Maybe because their personal thoughts are fighting against the idea of faith? “I’ve got too much going on to consider this gift.” “I don’t really need that gift.” “I’ve done too much bad stuff for him to give me anything.” Or “it’s not meant for me to have a good life.”
To be a receiver, means that we simply accept the gift. To accept Jesus’ gift of eternal life means that we have to give up ourselves—our own selfish desires—in order to receive the blessings that come. So, it can be said in this way: we first have to give, in order to receive. And as we receive, we give praises to our Savior’s well-thought-out plan.
If you don’t receive someone’s gift, it can rob the giver of the blessing that could come from giving.
Here’s what I’ve learned: As much as I want to be a great gift-giver, I also want to be a great receiver, because if I can receive gratefully, then I will bless the one who gave it. That’s how gifts keep on giving. There’s a satisfaction of His fullness if we would actually open the gift and let it penetrate our hearts. Jesus is the gift.