MAKING OURSELVES GIFTS TO GOD

(Preached on Sunday, January 4, 2004)

...so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.                                                          -Ephesians 1:12

 

This is an amazing passage of scripture.

It is an awesome statement about God.

It is all about God’s amazing action towards us.

Paul’s enduring message is that God cares.  A lot.

So much so that we might even describe ourselves somewhat whimsically perhaps, as the apple of God’s eye.

We matter deeply to God and nothing can or will separate us from God’s constant presence.

In fact, this passage is very clear about how the entire relationship depends upon God and God’s action.

All the active verbs point to God.

It is God who has blessed, chosen, destined, and made known.

All the passive verbs point to us.

It is we who have received, been redeemed, obtained an inheritance, and who were marked.

When I was first preparing early in the week for today, a quick reading of this passage had me thinking that in this matter of salvation, there isn’t a whole lot for me to do.

God does it all.

So I read it again more slowly and that still seems to be the message.

It’s all a gift; an inheritance.

Now, when my kids inherit all my worldly wealth (a comb, a toothbrush and a bunch of books), they won’t get it because they were good little girls and boys.  Not like Santa who only gives gifts to those kids who are “nice.”

No, they will receive the inheritance just because they are my children, and as such, my heirs.

 

Paul is trying to get the Ephesians to be open to receive that gift — to prepare themselves spiritually to say “Yes.”

The question then becomes, “How do we prepare ourselves to be ready to receive that gift?”

Or, another way to think about it, “How can be make ourselves gifts to God?”

 

See, my response is not built from a sense of trying to earn God’s favor or from a sense of fear or duty.

It is not like giving a gift to the boss because you feel you have to or giving a gift to a loved one or friend because you hope you will get a big gift in return.

No, my response to God, my response to this passage, is one of overwhelming gratitude.

It is the response of wanting to give someone a gift because they have just overwhelmed you with an amazing gift — like that Lexus with the big red bow on top in the TV commercial.  But God’s gift to us is even more amazing.

It is pure, unadulterated love and acceptance, in the face of all my pettiness and greed and self-centeredness.

No matter what I do or don’t do, Paul tells us, God loves us.

In fact, before I did anything, before I even was, before any of us were, before the foundation of the world, God chose us, to be God’s adopted children.

That sort of love is amazing, it is awe-inspiring, it gives me goose bumps.

That is why I want to make myself a gift to God and be the best person I possibly can be.

 

So, how do I do that?

This time of the year is a perfect time to think about this.

The start of a New Year is the time when everybody is in the mood to explore some change.

This is the time when we think about shifting our daily routines and make new commitments.

The New Year is the time for resolutions.

The newspaper has been filled with stories about resolutions.

There was a story last Monday about the American Academy of Pediatrics having compiled a slate of health-related and age-appropriate promises for 2004.

It was titled, “New Year’s resolutions for kids.”

Then there was the story in the Arts and Entertainment section, a humorous piece, with some suggested New Year’s resolutions for TV celebrities.

The late Erma Bombeck once made these New Year’s resolutions:

1. I’m going to clean this dump just as soon as the kids grow up.

2. I will go to no doctor whose office plants have died.

3. I’m going to follow my husband’s suggestion to put a little excitement into my life by living within our budget.

4. I’m going to apply for a hardship scholarship to Weight Watchers.

5. I will never loan my car to anyone I have given birth to.

6. And just like last year...I am going to remember that my children need love the most when they deserve it the least.

 

Most of you have probably already gone through the exercise of making resolutions, if you were going to try.

But probably most of those resolutions had to do with things like losing weight, living within your budget, exercising, or achieving certain goals.

I want to encourage you to now think about making some “spiritual resolutions.”

Think about those sort of things you would like to do in a positive manner to make yourself a gift to God.

(Refer to handout.)

 

Now, I realize this will be hard.

Perhaps you are saying to yourself, “Sure, this is easy to say, but I’m old enough to realize how much I resist change.  Every New Year I clean up my office, organize my calendar, straighten out my files, have a bath and try to be much more responsive to the needs of others.  But two or three days later my life is as chaotic as ever, and I’m feeling guilty.  You see, I have no problem making good resolutions.  I just can’t keep them.”

Well, here is an approach that might help.

 

Bo Lozoff, the cofounder of the Human Kindness Foundation and its award-winning Prison Ashram Project talks about a slogan used in his community: “You can do hard” in his book It’s a Meaningful Life: It Just Takes Practice.

Lozoff explains that in our times saying something is “too hard” allows us to give up without trying. 

This isn’t to say that change is easy — it usually isn’t.

But as Lozoff puts it: “We need not run away in fear just because something is greatly challenging.  It might be daunting, but we can do daunting.  It might even be scary, but we can do scary.”

You can do hard, too, but it helps if you reinforce your desire to change with a concrete practice.

Making a vow in front of others is one way to give some importance and momentum to your efforts.

There is real power in making commitments before others.

Think of the ceremonies you have attended — baptisms, confirmations, weddings.

You promise to uphold your vow, and those present make a commitment to support you.

 

So, here is what I want to invite you to do this week.

Go home, with the “help” sheet of spiritual resolutions and spend some time in prayer and reflection about what is happening in your life, what changes you would like to make for yourself and those around you that would help you to be a more spiritual person, a gift to God.