Mike’s Musings  …                    

The Heart of the Receiver

   I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve started this musing, only to delete it and begin again. My mind spans many years of being both receiver and giver of gifts this time of year, and thus a library of precious memories flood my soul as I muse on givers and receivers. Through the years, there have been the “token gifts” that demanded the statement, “It’s the thought that counts” to find any value at all in the item. As well, there are an array of gifts whose cost was quite minimal, but the value is incalculable! It all depends on the heart of the receiver, doesn’t it?

   For example, I have a ball-point pen given to me by a student that I know had very little financial stability. It has a bust of Abraham Lincoln adorning its head. I don’t use the pen … it means too much to me! I also have a very small handmade key-fob that an elderly sister in Christ gave me many years ago. I keep it in my desk … too precious to put to common use. I know the love and appreciation associated with these gifts. It isn’t the monetary value at all that makes them precious: it is my understanding of the giver’s attention toward me that makes their value incalculable!

   Just so, as I reflect on John 3:16, I muse as to whether I’ve fully appreciated the gift of the Great Giver, and matched my heart to its true value. Why did He care that much for me? What could I ever do that would ever approach an equal return of love and concern for Him as He gave to me? And when I combine the reality of Jesus’ willingness to be that gift of God’s love, then I must begin anew to consider the truest value of their love. (Combine John 15:13 with John 3:16). How can I ever properly express my most genuine and sincere appreciation for such an immeasurable gift of love?

   Jesus answered: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15). It is truly that simple: All we need to do to prove our sincerest love and appreciation for what He has given us is to keep His commandments! We don’t “exchange them” for something different, or put them in a box of treasured memories for mere reflection from time to time, but rather we keep our minds attentive to His Word and meditate upon it day and night (1 Timothy 4:15) as we endeavor daily obedience to His commandments. That’s precisely how we prove our love for being the recipients of His love! We cannot express proper appreciation for His great gift until we first contemplate and understand who we are in the mind of this great Giver – we are the greatest recipient! That increases the value of the gift, and therefore should increase the degree of sincerity and genuineness of our heart when we give Him thanks! You see, the heart of the receiver does matter … because it matters to the Giver!