Being an Effective Receiver

Scripture – Galatians 5:1-4: ¹It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ²Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Reflection: – Paul is making a major point here. In Christ we have eternal life. That comes to us as a gift. I am free to live as a follower of Christ because I don’t have to worry about losing that gift. God will not take it back. I’m not on any kind of probation to prove whether or not I’m serious. God knows my heart.

One of the most helpful disciplines I’ve found for my spiritual growth has to do with gifts. Over the past several years I have practiced letting myself receive gifts. When someone gives me a gift, I say, “Thank you.” I resist that temptation to give them a gift in return, as long as that gift would be only an attempt to “balance the books.” If that’s my motivation, I nullify the gift and it becomes merely a business transaction.

A hard thing to accept is I owe Christ nothing. I’m not in His debt because everything I have, He has given me. So I find myself doing good things and loving other people because of what He has done for me – not to somehow pay for what He’s done. In that, I find great freedom and joy.

How do you handle gifts? How can you practice becoming a more effective receiver of gifts?