The Gift of Re-Gifting

1 Corinthians 12: 1-11

What do you think about regifting? Of taking a gift that you've received and giving it to someone else? More often than not we think of regifting in negative terms—it shows disrespect for a person and their kindness. But in a sense, God tells us that He wants us regift. He wants us to use the gifts that He's given and give them back to Him as you use those gifts to serve Him and others. In thanks to God for His greatest gifts of faith in Jesus and the forgiveness that it brings, we are eager to give back to God what He's given to us, because regifting God-stuff is good.

God wants us to regift. Not necessarily with that sweater you don't particularly like or the black shirts you keep getting but with the gifts that God has given to you. No, he doesn't want you to give away all that you have, but he does want you to take the gifts that he's given and give them back to him, in a sense. He wants you to take those gifts and use them—all of them—to serve him by serving others.

A comedian once said, "Why does anyone give clothes as a gift anymore? You might as well say, 'Here, I got you an errand for Christmas. Oh, and as long as you're going to the mall to exchange or return that, could you pick up my dry cleaning?" But that's too often how we treat God's gifts to us. Sometimes we treat them as if they were worthless or even a burden.

And for the neglect or abuse of God's gifts, we may deserve to have our gifts taken away. The truth is that that's what we deserve. "I was completely ungrateful for the many gifts that my God has given to me, so now He will be stripping me of all of those gifts for my ingratitude: Jesus, forgiveness, heaven…"

That's exactly what we deserve. But that's nothing like what we get. Instead, we get forgiveness for our ingratitude, forgiveness for our apathy towards our God-given gifts, forgiveness for using those same gifts only for selfish purposes. We get the best gift that God could give when the Holy Spirit revealed to us who Jesus is, our Savior from sin.

But whatever gifts the Spirit has given to you, He hasn't given so that you might become more self-serving, but so that you might use those gifts for the common good.

So, what gifts do you have? What skills do you have? What hobbies do you have? Those aren't always the same thing, but they are often related. Do you love to read? Do you love to talk to other people? Do you love to bake? Do you love to sing? How could you use those gifts—those skills and abilities, those hobbies and interests—to serve others, to build up the church, to share the gospel?

So consider your gifts—the gifts the Holy Spirit Himself hand-picked for you—and look for ways that you can use those gifts to God's glory. Say yea and amen to doing those things "for the common good."

In other words, take those things God the Holy Spirit has given to you and regift them. Give them back to Him as you use those gifts to show your thanks, to serve your God, to serve others with His love.

Revd Dr Jim Keller, Pastor, Historic St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Kitchener, ON.