Giver of Gifts

I was reading Ephesians 4 this morning and a verse jumped out at me. Verse 7 states “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” I started looking for the meaning of apportioned because it can be read as meaning a greater or less measure and that didn’t seem to line up in my spirit. The dictionary says that it means to divide or allocate.  So I looked at some cross references and was led to 1 Corinthians 12:7-11.

“And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭6‬-‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We have a tendency as humans to constantly compare ourselves to those around us. But according to this scripture God is a loving Father who gives equally to all His children. He doesn’t give the same gift to everyone not because He is playing favorites but because He wants to fulfill each of His children’s hearts.

Consider it this way, at Christmas do you buy the same gift for everyone on your shopping list or do you spend considerable time and money looking for a specific gift that you think will light up the heart of the recipient? Let’s take it even another step back. Why do we give gifts? Isn’t it to convey our love and care for the recipient? Don’t we hope that what we give will bless them and let them know that they are special, cherished and were especially thought of as we shopped?

God is the Giver of Gifts and He delights in giving us gifts, so why does He do that and what are we supposed to do with them. Well, He gives gifts partly for the same reason we do, to tell us He loves us. He gives them as tools which can help us draw nearer to Him and to deepen our relationship. He also gives them to share them with others and to let people see there is a Father who loves them.

Why do we get so wrapped up in comparing our gifts? The enemy knows that if He can get us to question our gift it means we question the Giver. If we start eyeing other people’s gifts it means we are not setting our eyes on the One who loves us. If we do all this there is no way we will be drawn near to Him nor will we invite anyone else to join us. The enemy wins when we question what God has given us and somehow believe the lies that 1)we are not worthy of a gift, 2) if we do have one it’s not as good as others and 3) we can’t be content using the same gift but rather should look to upgrade to a bigger and better gift.

So what is the Giver of Gifts doing during this time when we are very out of focus? Sitting on the floor just hoping we will bring our gift out and spend some time with Him.