Advent 16 - Good Gifts

I grew celebrating Advent but it wasn’t until I was in seminary that I actually gave real thought to its meaning. Of course, it is the beginning of the Christian calendar, a time that leads us to the recognition of the birth of Jesus. It represents for us a time of waiting, expecting, and finally celebrating God’s good gift. One of my favorite scriptures is found in James 1:17:

 

“Every good and perfect gift comes from above, our Father, the God of light in whom there is not shadow of turning.”

 

Let’s make one thing clear; God gives all things GOOD. God is good. In God there is no changing. Meaning, God is Light but light without a shadow of turning or shifting shadows throughout the day. The Message Translation says it this way: “There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle.”So, if God was in the business of giving good gifts 2,000 years ago, God is not “fickle” and is, thereby, still in the business of giving good gifts today.

God’s gifts are to us and through us, but rarely exclusively for us. We are blessed to be a blessing.  We called to extravagant love and generosity. What God gives to us, we called to offer back in worship of God and service to the world.

This offering includes all of our resources…including our time, talent, and treasure. However, during this time of year I am most reminded of this spiritual principle when considering the gift of our children.  Yes, they are God’s good gift to us (I certainly know my own children have been an incredible blessing in my life), but just as any gift given by God, they are not ours to keep, but to give back to God and the world.

In this thought, I’ll end with a poem/philosophy I try to live by (though I often fail miserably). It is by poet Kahil Gibran. In his poem “On Children,” he writes:

“Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
 

You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth."

 

Yes, yes! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! ….But remember, they flow, they’re not stagnant. Thank God for God’s good gift, especially our babies.  

 

-- Rev. Ray Jordan