Life Is the Stories You Can Tell
  • Life is the Stories You Can Tell
  • Sing His Praises
  • My Creed
  • Books I Love
  • Christmas Letters

Better to Receive

12/25/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Think of a meaningful gift you received.   Maybe a doll or a toy gun when you were a younger.  Perhaps a bike or a puppy or box of cold cereal.   Maybe a made-at-school Mother’s Day painting when your child was in elementary or a made-in-Cub Scouts Father’s Day tie.   Or perhaps it was a special note, a sincere apology or a simple “I love you”.   Whatever the gift or whomever the giver, receiving the gift brought joy to you and glory to giver, 
We hear often that “it is better to give than receive". While this is usually the case, it is not always true.  Granted, focusing on giving shields us from a selfish, self-centered focus however it is important to recognize that receiving is also a critical component of the process.   Sometimes it is better to receive.   
Some gifts we receive without realization...a smile from the over-worked grocery store clerk, a prevented mail mix-up from the postal worker, lettuce harvested by field hands, messes tidied by behind-the-scenes mothers...   Some of the gifts we receive we take for granted...sunrises every morning, spring rains and singing sparrow, ankles that steady us as we walk over uneven ground, a digestion system that works even when we overload it with sugar...  And we have all been given gifts, personal gifts, we did nothing to earn. For some it is the ability to make music (not mine!).  For some it is the ability to make friends.  For others it is athleticism, academic prowess, or language acquisition.   Whatever the gift, receiving it brings us joy.     
It is in the receiving that we experience joy.    We can refuse to receive.    Not everyone enjoys the sunrise every morning.  (Hard to believe, I know.)  We can ignore the clerk’s smile, sit at home instead of using our ankles, or shelve the talents we’ve been given.  When we fail to receive the gift, we close the door to the joy the gift could bring.   Receiving gifts brings us joy. 
Joy to the world!  There is a gift that can bring joy to all.    Everyone.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).    Heavenly Father gave us His Son.   His was the gift of all gifts, a gift that will bring joy and peace, comfort and strength, guidance and direction, and love, lots and lots of love, to all who receive it.   
The key is the receiving.   We must receive Christ to experience the blessings of the Father’s gift.  Receiving the gift of Christ will bring joy to us and glory to the Father.  This year we urge you to receive the gift of the Son. In 2022, may we receive CHRIST. ​

Picture
0 Comments

    Author

    Teresa Hislop
    thislop@msn.com

    Archives

    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    September 2012
    August 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.