The Gift-Giver matters ...

Brother John went home for the holidays and coming back fondly shared some highlights of his visit to his family. He is from upstate New York and this was his first homecoming after his return from Africa and was excited to share to us his time with his nephew Vincent, his brother's 12 year old son. Vincent has not seen his uncle for five years but hears a lot about him from his dad and from the letters John sent home. Knowing his uncle even not seeing him the boy loves John and looks forward
for this family reunion. Vincent spent a lot of time with his uncle asking questions about missionary work such as how does it feels working with people in Africa, the food, climate, animals etc. Of course John was happy to share and answer everything possible to Vincent's curiosity. Now came the time to open Christmas presents. The children had a lot of gifts and after opening all the gifts Vincent said he will show to his uncle a special gift that he likes the most. He kept it in his room. The boy went back to his room and returning John noticed a wooden cross hanging around the boy's neck that looked familiar. It was a wooden cross pendant that  John sent for the boy few years back when he first came to Africa. Vincent said, he liked it a lot because it came from his uncle and he knew it was special since it came from a place where John served as missionary. The boy even said that he proudly told his friends about his uncle who served in the mission and showed them the gift from Africa.

As an object, nothing is extra-ordinary about the wooden cross. What makes this gift special to Vincent was the person who gave this to him whom he loves and important to him.

We cherish the gift we received to the degree of importance of the giver to us. The more important the person to us, the more we value the gift, be it a simple picture or a card, we take good care of it for we see the giver in the gift. It gives pleasure to us to remember the giver by seeing the gift. Much as to the pleasure of the receiver, the same is true with the gift-giver. The gift usually is well thought of in relation to the importance of the receiver.  When we select a gift, isn't it we want to give something precious to a person that means a lot to us?

Love plays an important part in the manner the gift is treated by both the gift giver and the receiver.

The great gift-giver is our Creator, God who loves us so much and whose pleasure is to be in communion with us. He knows too that beyond all the superficial things that makes a person happy, we can only possess our ultimate desire of true happiness by being with Him. And so because of God's love for us, He wants to give us something very precious to Him. He humbled himself and came to the world to be one with us. This is only way to share himself to us.

God became human so that by sharing our humanity in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, we can share in His divinity. Only by being in union with Him can we attain our ultimate desire for Joy which is Life with God.  

The essence of Joy is in loving. But the essence of loving is in giving. And this is proven by God himself...("God so loved the world, He gave His only Son..." John 3:16). God did not spare his Son. He made that sacrifice for love of us. He wants us to have life and have it to the full so that our Joy maybe complete. The gift giver matters because He gave us all He has, His only Son, Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. However by that very act of loving, God has shown us that we too should give our lives for the good of others in order to attain our heart's desire of pure Joy. Self sacrificial love is the essence of the gift we received from the great Gift-Giver.

The Gift we receive, give it as a gift and we will possess the essence of Joy which is life with God who is Love.

"If you keep my commandment, you will abide in my love as I have kept my Father's and abide in his love, so that my joy maybe yours and that your joy maybe full." John 15:10-11

And this is Jesus' commandment ... "Love one another; greater love no man than this, to lay down his life for his friends". John 15:13

Vincent has shared and shown the wooden cross to his friends because he loves his uncle and by doing so he is giving witness to the life that his uncle John has chosen.  Brother John has chosen to embark on a journey of gift giving, a gift journey freely chosen and taken so that as he progress in his desire to be in union with God through self giving, the fullness of joy will be his. The Gift he receives, he has given it as a gift.


What precious gift did you receive this Christmas?
God Bless.