WATCHWORD:
The Lord restored Jobs losses when he prayed for his friends. Job 42:10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
Meditation:
What Is a Gift?
Have you thought about the fact that we may not really know or understand or even accept the power of a gift? Maybe it’s just a little thing of no consequence but there it is, we have received something we didn’t earn and didn’t work for, and it’s ours. Do we take credit?
Do we look upon the tithe as our gift to the church? Do we consider the truth that the tithe is returning to God what he has already entrusted to us? It’s not a gift we give. It’s not a gift at all, it’s a recognition where all the graces in our lives have come from, the graces that surround us in every form, all of which have come from God. At its core, it is a measure of our faith, our trust in the Almighty.
How often have we uttered the phrase “Oh, you shouldn’t have”? When given an unexpected gift, act of generosity on the part of another, do we express appreciation by saying: Oh, you shouldn’t have! Why not? Are we saying the spirit that moved another to give us a gift was wrong and shouldn’t have? Hmm. Is that how we treat one of God’s graces? How about, thank you?
In our talk with God, our prayer life, are we simply asking for something; Give me, give me, give me. Give me the gift of patience, the gift of inspiration, the gift of good health. Please, Lord, give me. Whatever it is, it sounds like a child asking our parents for something. Come to think of it, maybe we are. After all we are children of God, and God told us “ask and it will be giving to you.”.
In the book of Job, things changed for this man when he began to pray for his friends. In other words when, he moved away from self-serving prayers, to request of God on behalf of his friends. Throughout scripture, we are urged to be generous with what we have, even if it’s in small amounts. We are challenged to reach out and lift other people who may be hurting, who may be lacking, who may be struggling.
Maybe our prayers should be turned from self-serving to the other-serving; Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to have partience with my friend who is suffering. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; To give and not count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that I follow your will, Lord. Amen.
Using God’s gifts is simply doing what God has equipped us to do. Gifts received and now given up for another’s need. Give it up and apply it following His word. Just do it. It’s what the Lord leads us to do when we commit our lives to our Lord. So be it.
Closing Prayer:
God of all creation, source of life and giver of all good things; through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts. With them we offer our lives; that we may be used to serve others, and give you glory. We offer these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
