Without question my Dad was the greatest gift giver I’ve ever known. Mom was excellent but Dad ratcheted it up to ‘rather superb’. He would find items that no one else would even have thought about at first blush, but they were always spot on. However, he was also the world’s worst gift receiver. I never understood this or knew why but he was. Mom, on the other hand, was able to adroitly blend both.
Gift giving and receiving is an art. The giving requires you to really think about the person you are giving the gift to and attempt to find something that reflects who they are and/or their interests. Sometimes a gift meets a need and sometimes it meets a want. Personally, I prefer the latter. You need to be able to appreciate the other person in order to find the gift that would most delight them. If not…. why bother?
The gift receiving is a little trickier. And this is where you need to be able to appreciate the other’s intent even if the gift is not precisely what you need or want. The fact that the other person went to the trouble and expense of getting you a gift should demonstrate something to you – that you are appreciated, liked, loved. To me, it is always the look on the face of the person giving the gift that is the key to their involvement. Are they excited? Is there a gleam in their eye? Do they look like they’d like to rip the paper off to get to the gift to see your expression?
When God gave His Son as a gift to mankind, he was meeting both a need and a want. Jesus is truly the gift, and the only gift, that meets the need for salvation and the want of a savior. And this is also a gift that keeps on giving. When we accept the gift and make Him our Lord, He steps into the void and provides us with all the gifts we need for a full and fruitful life. All we need do is to accept the gift given.
