Loving Your Gift

This past Sunday, I was sitting in my usual chair at the front of the worship center, waiting for the final worship service to begin.  At Highlands we do three services (8:30, 9:45, 11:00...we used to do four but most of the staff almost died from hyperventilation....).  So, it was 10:55, and I can honestly say that I was sort of dreading to have to do another worship service.  It had been a hard previous week administratively, our church is struggling financially, and I was tired.  I didn't want to preach again.

But then, I heard this voice in my ear (not audible, but noticeable), say to me, "Do you Love your gift...Do you love your gift...Do you like the art of preaching...Do you enjoy the activity that God gave you an ability to do?"  The answer in my mind was, of course, yes, but I wasn't acting like it.

God gives all of us gifts.  To some people He gives the gift of organization, to others the gift of personality, to others the gift of music, dance, video, cooking, gardening, caring, listening, nurturing.  God gives us all gifts.  However, it isn't enough to just have a gift from God, we are also called to love that gift.

In the book of James it says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above; coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights...".  Our job as Christ followers is to not only accept the gifts that God bis us, but to love them,, and to live into them.  When we do this, we actually make God's gift in our life even richer and fuller.

Love your gift...even when you have one more sermon to preach on a long Sunday morning...

All for now,

GB