Special Gifts

1.  Giving Equals Receiving

2 Corinthians 9:6 NKJV
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 

Everyday our lives are inundated with opportunities to grow in the spirit through loving, ministering, and giving.  If we can’t recognize those opportunities or have no motivation to seek them out, we have to concede that our everyday reality will never equal our desires, wants, and ambitions.

God has purposed the act of giving to position us to receive the earnestness of our desires. He has planted opportunities to give and bless all around us, and we are responsible for seizing them. 

Giving equals receiving; it’s a universal law.  Every time we give out of a loving heart, it will be returned to us many times over.

2.  Be a Cheerful Giver

2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV
So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7 admonishes us to give according to the motives of our hearts.  A believer who desires to follow the example of Jesus Christ should naturally have a sincere desire to give.  If he or she does not, this verse is not permission to forgo the act of giving altogether, but a challenge to re-align our hearts with the love of Christ. 

The most special gift that any of us can give is one that keeps on giving…the gift of love, and the ways in which it can be expressed are limitless.  The gifts we give aren’t nearly important as the joy and happiness they bring.  Someone who knows that we care enough to meet a need or fulfill a wish extends the true essence of the blessing.

3.  Giving Is the Result of Spiritual Growth 

2 Corinthians 9:8 NKJV
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

God has ordained that our lives thrive in the positive cycle of giving and receiving.  He didn’t give us this wealth of good stuff to keep it to ourselves, but that others might be nourished through us.  As we continue to grow and give, we’ll find that the remnants of selfishness and jealousy decrease as the love of God increases.  We’ll find that who we are and who we will be is determined by #1)how we restitute our past dealings out of a lack of love, and #2)how we use what God has given us to be a blessing to the body of Christ.

4.  Giving Lays the Foundation for Purpose

2 Timothy 1:9 KJV
9 Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Purpose is the buzz word these days; you can hardly go to any Christian gathering without hearing it.  There is a reason for that.  Whether or not we choose to believe it, God has a plan for the universe, and a plan for our lives.  He has called us with a “holy calling…according to His own purpose and grace.”   

Ephesians 2:10 NLT, says “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  God created us to be replicas of Jesus Christ, to commit ourselves to good works. 

A person who plants a garden in the spring of the year will not consider their skills a success until he or she witnesses blooms bursting forth in all their grandeur. It is the culmination of efforts that produce the harvest of good stuff and provide a real sense of fulfillment.  Purpose is the place where our skills, talents, and abilities meet a need.   It isn’t one thing that we wait our whole lives to do, but many, many things that intertwine, compound, and multiply until we have a catalog of good works that fulfill our obligation to the faith.

When we have destiny on our back, and the extraordinary in our view, we will give with great faith, expectancy, and love, for we are God’s masterpiece!  He has no hands but our hands, no feet but our feet. We are so very important to the plan and will of God, and the degree to which we believe that fact will be evidenced by how we give and bless others.

5.  Make Giving Your Trademark

Giving is the most identifiable habit pattern of the Christian.  It’s our signature.  Find a way to give that conveys your brand of special. Whether it’s a unique card, craft, flower, or gift, build a legacy of giving that represents the most positive reflection of God’s love.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked "NKJV™" are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.