Searching for Gifts

A Boy and a Tree

One of my favorite stories from childhood is “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. If you know the story, many of the boys fondest memories are tied to the playtime he had on the swing of the tree, climbing it, then using the tree as a resource bit by bit until all that was left was the stump.

Throughout his life, this boy grew to become a man who recognizes that he had taken much from something which only gave and gave until it could give no more.

I know there are times when I continually ask God to give and give and give. We are a needy people who desire much and often forget the gifts that have been given to us.

Leaving only the Stump

Think about the most recent times in your life where you have been searching whether to give or to receive. If your words are often asking for others to do things, give of their time, their efforts, or to give remember that it is better to give than to receive.

Just as the boy in “The Giving Tree” we often do not think of those who continually give if all we are doing is taking.

God desires more than that from us as well. He freely gives of Himself and His mercy is plentiful. What we give back is vital for understanding the giving nature of God.

As we give we learn how gracious God truly is. When we only ask of others and take we bring in to ourselves isolation from what God has purposed for our lives.

Thankfully, God’s gift continues to remind us of how to give as He only knows how.

Searching for the gift of the world

Isaiah 7:10 NASB95

Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying,

Isaiah 7:11 NASB95

“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

Isaiah 7:12 NASB95

But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”

Isaiah 7:13 NASB95

Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?

Isaiah 7:14 NASB95

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:15 NASB95

“He will eat curds and honey at the time He knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.

Isaiah 7:16 NASB95

“For before the boy will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land whose two kings you dread will be forsaken.

Gift of the Son

Isaiah 9:6 NASB95

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:7 NASB95

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Gift of Humanity

Look into your life and see that God has given you an opportunity to see the sign of His coming. Look into the truth of Jesus and see the sign of Jesus’ birth as the greatest gift ever given.

God with us, Immanuel! For a time, God dwelt among His people and He desires to do so again.

Where are you in giving back to the kingdom so that you may grow in your understanding of the depths of God’s riches?

Do you hide your gift fearing that if you give it away that you will not receive more to give?

Ask of yourself what in this world does not belong to the creator?

What do you need so much that giving of your talents would prevent you from being able to accomplish more than what God is capable of accomplishing through your willingness to give?

Gift of the Church

Jesus gives to the world through those willing to give of themselves. In the body of Christ the church is able to reach much further than just one person. Give of yourselves what you are able to the one who gave Himself for you.

If we the church recognize that many of our abilities would be strengthened if each person gave of their talents and abilities where God has blessed them.

As you mature, look back over your life where the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ, has given so much of Himself for you. Are you willing to recognize how Jesus asks you to give back?

Balance between Give and Take

Adam Grant and Allison Sweet Grant

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/parenting/we-need-to-talk-about-the-giving-tree.html, accessed December 19, 2021.

Here’s a conversation you might consider having with your children after reading “The Giving Tree.” Imagine that the boy were not so selfish and the tree not so selfless. Imagine that the boy hadn’t so quickly and completely discarded the apples, but rather, had planted their seeds. Imagine the tree had not been reduced to a lonely stump, but had been surrounded by a whole forest of other trees. Imagine a different ending where the boy, now grown, returned with his own children to visit the tree. Imagine a new generation of children swinging from the branches and resting in its shade. Part of the power of “The Giving Tree” is experiencing the passage of time. Imagine the kind of lesson that would be.