By Emily Salerno-Oswald
Columnist
It’s the start of Advent, and we are entering into a time when gifts become a topic of discussion. We contemplate the coming of Christ, the best gift of all. We plan gifts that we would like to give to our family and friends, in order to emulate Christ’s self-gift. Another part of this season is receiving gifts from others and receiving the gifts that God gives us in our lives.
A beloved household sister of mine once told me that God is a good Father who likes to give good gifts to His children. It’s easy to write off a statement like this as merely a nice sentiment. To some, it might even seem presumptuous. I know I’ve thought to myself at times, Who am I to ask God for gifts or, furthermore, to assume that He wants to give them to me?
However, Matthew 7:7 states, “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” So, perhaps the notion that God wants to give us gifts is not so much of a presumption at all. It is written in the word of God, so it’s definitely not something that we just assume.
I remember during my sophomore year, I was contemplating joining a household. I had visited a certain household many times, and all evidence pointed to the fact that this was the household for me. But something was holding me back.
I called my household sister on the phone and asked her an important question: “If something seems like a gift that is just too good to be true, how do you know that God isn’t just going to take it away from you once you fully enter into it?” My wise household sister then told me about the Good Father bit and how God likes to give his children good gifts. But she didn’t stop there.
She went on to say that God will keep giving us good gifts if we follow where He is leading us. It’s not a one-and-done sort of thing. God’s supply of goodness doesn’t run out once we accept one gift that He gives us. It’s sort of like He says to us, “Thank you for accepting my gift, my child. There’s more where that came from.”
In other words, accepting a gift from God doesn’t mean that we’re unknowingly consenting to a state of privation from that day forward. Rather, we’re opening ourselves up to further abundance that God has in store for us, if we just trust Him.
Why do we always expect the worst? Why do we always think that when what seems to be a good gift is presented to us that there must be a catch? That there must be an angle? That it’s bound to come back to bite us at some point or worse, be taken away from us? Why can’t it literally just be a good gift?
I think it’s because we know what it’s like to be let down. Being let down is a legitimate concern. However, we must not let fear dictate our decisions. Just because you’ve been let down before, doesn’t mean that the same thing will happen every time you allow yourself to receive a gift… and to get excited about it! If you live by such a skeptical mentality, you may deprive yourself of genuinely good things, for absolutely no other reason than the fear that is lying to you. This type of self-sabotage is exactly what makes the enemy happy and exactly what makes God sad, as he tries to shower blessings in your life.
Adam and Eve made the worst mistake of their lives when they told themselves that God was holding out on them. Similarly, when we look at God’s gifts to us with a furrowed brow and decide never to unwrap them, but just to keep them in their packaging… we’re essentially trusting our own ability to protect ourselves more than we’re trusting that God will protect and care for us.
I pray that you will not make that mistake this Advent. Pray that I too do not make that mistake. Because nothing feels worse than the act of trying earnestly to give a gift to someone you love, only to find that they reject your gift. Don’t do that to God. Let Him give you a gift, even if you’re scared by it or don’t quite know how to receive it. If you weren’t ready for it, He wouldn’t be giving it to you.
Don’t assume that you know the ins and outs of how the gift will unfold in your life. Don’t assume that you know the true purpose of the gift. In short, try not to assume anything (other than the fact that, if it’s from God, then it must be good). Give yourself permission to open the gift and take joy in it, trusting that it’s from your dad who loves you and it’s a good one.