Redemptive Gifts Part 5-Giver (In this series we will take a quick look at the characteristics of each individual redemptive gift. Please see ‘Redemptive Gift’ in the menu at the top of the page for an explanation of “Redemptive Gifts” teaching.)
Ahh! Givers! Delightful, charming, fun, stubborn, controlling, life-giving, surprising givers! You are so difficult to spot in the Body of Christ. Stubbornness to a fault and with a great capacity to nurture, you look like a prophet or teacher. exuberant, fun, joyful! You look like a mercy, exhorter or even a servant! So who are you really, behind that facade? You are the chameleon of the Redemptive Gifts. You are the ‘behind the scenes’ oil that keeps the body of Christ moving forward. You are the one who brings new ideas, new businesses, new ministries to life! Supplies, resources, and networking are your specialties. Flexible and adaptable, you can find what works and bring that missing piece, the piece that others have overlooked, to make the puzzle complete.
The nurture and nature of God the Father is manifested in you in your need to have family around you. You celebrate life! You crave relationship and are willing to make sacrifices. You are designed to do that because this makes community! You, Giver, ‘do community well.’
Giving is an art to you. Never spontaneous, you watch, study people, and notice their needs or desires so that the gifts you give are more personal, strategic, hitting the spot every time.
God gives good gifts too, but most of the time His best gifts are rejected. Jesus, the greatest ‘giver’ had the most strategic, loving and sacrificial gift to give to the world. His Life! He gave the best. All of heaven and earth was at his disposal. He had NO NEEDS. Yet He chose to give it all for us.
Being needy is the most devastating state for you, Giver, just as it was for Him. You always want to be the one who gives and you have a passion to give life. However, receiving? Another story!
Jesus, the one who owned it all, allowed others to feed him. He allowed himself to become needy down to the very basic of life itself, thirst. By doing this He recognized that all good gifts come from the Father, even when it comes from the hand of your enemy. He recognized that he must humble himself in order give the greatest and best gift: LIFE TO THE WORLD. And so, you too, Giver, must recognize that none of the resources are yours. Father does not release them to you so that you can choose, control, or make sure you get the best deal. You must learn to whom they really belong, and in gratefulness and humility, you are simply the ‘conduit’ God uses to channel His gifts to His body! Remember, every good and perfect gift comes from above, not from you. As you release your control and ownership of all resources and cultivate a thankful heart, then you, too, Giver, are able to release life–His Life!
Yes! Givers, you are loved, honored and essential to the body of Christ. You are called to bring us together in community. You are called to help us see the portion we are missing. So don’t just enjoy life. Give life. Don’t just ‘do community.’ Become life-giving to the community! Don’t seek to control it. Release it with abandon! We need you, Giver! We need your nurture, your wisdom and your vitality! Show us how to steward His good gifts. Father delights in you. And so do we!
Leave a Reply