God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. –1 Peter 4:10
Take a moment and answer the following question: What is the greatest gift you ever received?
What answer did you come up with? Was it a large monetary gift? Was it a brand new car? Maybe it was a new house!
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that, for many if not most of you, it wasn’t any of those things. Aren’t the greatest gifts we receive the ones that were given with love from someone?
If you invited me into your kitchen at your house, I bet in many of them I’d find art “masterpieces” crafted by children that you wouldn’t trade for all the Picassos or Renoirs in the world. In your offices or bedrooms or living rooms would be photos of loved ones that are among the first things you’d grab if your place were on fire. Perhaps the greatest gift is found in a card, note or letter that changed your heart and your life by the words inscribed within.
Gifts given from the heart that reveal and reflect the love of the giver are transformational.
Here’s another question: What are the greatest gifts that reside inside of you? Don’t answer that one too quickly because you might just answer wrongly. Far too many of us devalue ourselves and our talents and gifts. Sometimes we don’t realize we have them because they either come so naturally to us or because someone has spoken damaging words that make us hide them deep within. Your gift could be singing or playing music — I’d love to have these but that’s not reality. Your gift could be a healing touch or understanding of science, physiology, etc. Your gift could be efficiency, leadership, stewardship. You could have the gift of loving or making people feel important and at ease.
But the greatest gifts that all of us have and all of us can give are these: our love and our presence with those around us.
The scriptural passage above tells us that God gave all of us gifts. And He asks all of us to share them with each other. But what He is asking of us, He modeled for us. God gave us the greatest gift He had — Jesus. Jesus gave us the greatest gift He had — His loving presence and His life given in love for us.
For all of us at Loma Linda University Health, no matter our position, job or school, we have claimed and proclaimed that our mission is to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ. To do that, we need to realize and receive His gift and example of love expressed through service. When our hearts and minds are filled with His love, we are ready to share our gifts.
—Terry Swenson, DMin, is chaplain for Loma Linda University.
