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“Giver + Gift + Recipient = Obligated gift in return.”

A thought by Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson, (2011-07-19) from their book, Rumors of God: Experience the Kind of Faith You´ve Only Heard About (Kindle Locations 620-621). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Do you ever give a gift and then wonder what you are getting in return?  If that is true of you then what you gave was not a gift but an upfront payment for what they are now obligated to give you.  That is not what gift giving is all about.

Now to me the wrong spirit of Christmas is not the untold gift-giving that is done but it is the expectation part of what do I want and what so I expect/want to get.  Jesus came to us as a gift and the Wise Men gave gifts to the baby Jesus and both were done with no expectation of getting anything in return.

I have found it so interesting that the one main symbol at this time of year in the secular world is a jolly old guy who gives and gives and gives with no expectation of anything in return.  And what do we try to do is burst that bubble of Santa Clause because whoever heard of someone who gives with no expectation.  I mean we adults, Christians or non-Christians know that it is what we get that is the most important thing at this time of the year.  There is no way anyone who gives with no expectation can be real.

Now the reality is we are closer to whom Christ really is when we give than at any other time.  My desire is to be like Christ and also to be like Santa.  Have you ever noticed that Santa does his thing when we are all asleep? 

Now of course Christ is real and Santa isn’t but what Santa personifies needs to be real.  Remember this time of the year is a Celebration of Giving.  Give to those you love but also find someone who may not have someone and give to them.  Each Sunday at Forefront Church in Manhattan we have been bringing something out of our abundance to give to someone who has nothing.  For us one week it was three bags of shoes, another week it was six bags of clothes and last week Margaret and I brought three large bags of coats for those in need at the Bowery Mission in Lower Manhattan.  We also will be bringing more stuff this Sunday.  We also have stuff around our tree at home for Andrew, Stefanie, Margaret and Bill and two large boxes are on the way to Denver, Colorado for Brett, Marissa, Ashlyn and Addison.  We are going to Skype and watch then as they open the gifts that they have given.

Yes it is OK to enjoy ripping open those packages but also make sure you stop and watch the joy of those opening the gift you gave them.  That is what this Celebration is all about – it is the joy of giving a gift to someone without any obligation.  That’s what God did when He gave His Son, Jesus to us. 

So who can you give to who will not be giving back something to you?
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