Returning a Gift, Part 5

Spirituality Column #59
December 25, 2007
Current in Carmel (IN) newspaper

Returning a Gift, Part 5
By Bob Walters

One of the unique things about a gift is that you can’t earn it.

You really can’t deserve it, either.

If you earn it or deserve it, then it’s a wage or a prize, not a gift.

If you give and expect something in return, then it’s a bribe, not a gift.

A gift is one of the ultimate expressions of freedom. I give because I want to; I receive because I am free to.

Whether I return a gift … now there is an act of will and discernment.

I’ve been writing this Christmas season about how my friend and long-time Indianapolis minister Russ Blowers, who died last month (November 10, 2007), gave me the gift of courage a few years ago in finding Christ. Christ on the Cross and our eternal salvation is a gift from God; the courage to make that truth part of my life was in large part a gift from Russ.

It was more a gift of his overall demeanor than a neatly wrapped Christmas stocking stuffer – not, “Here Bob, have some courage.” But I must say it was a far larger gift than I understood at the time.

To take a slightly different track …

When I was six I asked Santa for an electric train. Christmas morning in the living room … no electric train. I threw a fit. Got spanked. Turns out Santa had set up the electric train in the basement because it was too big for the living room.

Some gifts are just too big for the living room … and turn up in unexpected places. I feel that way about courage and Christianity and salvation.

There are many things one can do with a gift: Appreciate it. Use it. Ignore it. Say thank you (always say “thank you”). Re-gift it. Return it. Share it. Grow it. Praise God for it.

With Christmas over and as we start this brief season of gift returning, let’s also consider the joy of gift-sharing. Return the gift of courage to those around you. Be brave and ask to understand the gift. Be brave and share your story as a Christian.

It is the kind of gift return that explains why so many people know who Russ Blowers was … and who he will always be to us.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) knows the electric train story doesn’t exactly fit this “return a gift” context, but it’s a true story. Christmas is about a true story.