James 1: 17; Ephesians 2: 10; 1 Peter 4:10

“17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning”.

What an expression of excitement usually associated with the reception of gifts! This excitement is exhibited for whatever kind of gift received – Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, wedding gifts, graduation gifts, etc. A gift is always a welcomed initiative regardless of the occasion.

If you are like me, once you unwrap the gift, your imagination begins to run wild about usage – thoughts of how and when to use it dominates your mind at such times; especially if it is an item that has been of your wish list for a while.

However, could you for a moment imagine having a gift and never unwrapping it! That is, no attempt was made to discover the item inside the box, either due to negligence or lack of interest – What a disappointment to the giver of the gift; what a waste on the part of the recipient!

Of what value is a gift that still sits within the sealed parts of the wrapping paper, unopened, and unused. The gift becomes useless and worthless if left to deteriorate in its original wrappings and box. This represents a waste of resources in its highest order!

What is the point here? We have each been given a gift from God; the Bible makes this clear. Each gift is a bill of trust from God – of all His creation, God has chosen to endow man with bits and pieces of Himself (in form of gifts, skills, etc.), that we might bring glory to Him.

Although distributed disproportionally, owing to our abilities and talents, God has certain expectations with regards to the gifts we’ve been given. Sadly, though, most of us journey through life without ever caring to open (unwrap) our gifts!

If our God-given gifts remain unopened – think about aspects of our lives that will never be discovered, think about many other lives left untouched, think about the disappointment of the giver (God), think about the waste of resources, think about the breach of trust (God’s trust), and finally think about the glory we have deprived God of!

The tragedy of an unopened gift has far more reaching consequences than we may ever realize! The greatest pain is not just that the gift was never used, but that it was never unwrapped or opened!

Food for thought.