I love to give. Each year during Christmas I get so excited about all the gifts I’m going to send home to my family. Since moving to California, I haven’t been in Ohio during Christmas since 2009. Traveling during the holidays is such a hassle. To complicate things, flying to the East coast in December almost always means a delayed flight due to the weather. So my new Christmas tradition is to send home a big box full of gifts and facetime my parents on Christmas morning so I can witness their surprise in as close to “real time” as I can get.
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Giving for me is not about getting anything in return. The only thing I do expect is a “Thank You.” Its never a problem for the adults to show gratitude. But there has been a few occasions when weeks would go by before I would hear a “thank you” from one of my nieces or nephews. I would ask my mom how so and so liked their gift and she’d say, “Oh they loved it, they’re always playing with it.” In my mind I’d think, “well, it sure would have been nice to hear at least a thank you or I love you Aunt Tiff.” Because they are kids I don’t hold it against them, but it made me think about how often God gives us what we ask for and we become so consumed with the gift that we forget Him.
God knows how to give good gifts to us, His children. (Matt. 7:11). Its easy for us to spend time seeking God when we are asking Him for stuff – a husband, a baby, a new job, or a new house. God wants to give us the desires of our heart and bless us with these things. But what happens when He answers that prayer by bringing our mate or opening the door for us to get that promotion at work? Once we receive the gift, does our dedication and devotion to the giver cease?
“Once we receive the gift, does our dedication and devotion to the giver cease?”
Don’t allow the gift that God blessed you with become the reason you no longer seek Him with the same fervency you did before you received it. Just like I love to give gifts to my nieces and nephews, I want to know that more than the gift, they love their Aunt Tiff. Even though God wants to bless you beyond your wildest imagination, He wants to be your heart’s desire above all else.