1 Chronicles 29

God's Gifts And Ours

All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. 1 Chronicles 29:14.

This is a verse of a hymn that was sung at a gift service about a thousand years before Jesus came to earth.

King David had gathered together all the princes and rulers and great men of the kingdom to ask them for offerings to build a House for God. He himself had given very generously, and when he asked for gifts from the people they brought such splendid presents of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and precious stones that the king's heart was overflowing with thankfulness. Now you know that when David was very glad, or very sorry, or very sad, he made a song about it. And so, on this occasion, he sang a hymn of thanksgiving to God for all His good gifts. And while he was singing he felt that he couldn't give God anything that God hadn't given him already. Riches, and honor, and strength, and the power to give all came from God, and he could only give Him back His own.

1. Now you have brought God presents today, presents that are going to make some of His less fortunate children happy. And those are presents that God loves very much, the presents that will give joy to somebody who is sick, or poor, or lonely, or sad. But I want you to remember that you wouldn't have had these presents to give, that you wouldn't have had anything at all, if God hadn't first given it to you.

God is constantly giving us presents. He gives us life, He gives us health, He gives us our home. He gives us parents, and brothers, and sisters, and friends. He has given us this beautiful world to live in, and the beautiful things in it. He gives us food to eat, and sleep to refresh us. He gives us books to make us wise, and toys to make us glad. He gives us good desires, and kind thoughts, and noble ambitions. Best of all He has given His own Son to live for us and to die for us. So we cannot give God anything that He hasn't given us already.

2. But don't run away with the idea that God thinks any the less of our gifts because we give Him back His own. I wonder how many of you get an allowance. Well, suppose you didn't spend that money on candy or toys, and suppose you added a few more weeks of allowance to it and bought your father a present, do you think he would value the present less because he had given you the money first of all? You know that that is absurd. You know that he would treasure that present far above many grander ones, because he would think of the love and the self-denial that it stood for.

God is far more loving, far more understanding than any earthly father, and He loves to have our little gifts.

Some years ago a minister was getting married and the members of his congregation subscribed a big sum of money to give him a handsome present. The day before he went away to be married a little child in the congregation came to him and shyly pressed a small sum of money into his hand with the words, “That's your present from me. It's my allowance from two weeks!” The minister thought more of that money than of all his grand gifts. He wouldn't have parted with it for a golden sovereign (valuable British gold coin). And I think God feels like that about our gifts.

Perhaps it cost you something to bring your present. You had to renounce some little pleasure to buy it, or you gave one of your own treasures. Well, God saw all that, and He loves the gift all the more for it.

Or perhaps you spent long hours making something. God saw all the love that went into your bit of work. He knew how often you pricked your finger, how often you gave up playing to work. He saw the tear you bravely brushed away when everything went wrong. Yes, He saw it all, for God is never too busy to notice the things we call small.

3. God makes us free to do as we will with His gifts, and some people keep all God's gifts to themselves. Don't be one of these shabby people. You know if somebody has been very kind to you, you feel you would like to do something for them, and that is a right feeling. Well God has done much more for us than the kindest and most loving of friends. Did you ever think about what you could do for Him?

You have brought presents today and that is good, but there are other gifts God has given you. How are you using them?

Sometimes you hear people talking about their friends, and they say, “So-and-so has a gift for painting,” or “a gift for music,” or “a gift for writing.” Now if you have a gift of that kind it is a great responsibility, because it is a power to make the world either better or worse, and whether you make the world better or worse depends on the way you use your gift. Well, if any one of you has a gift of that kind, remember it is a glorious opportunity, and resolve to use your gift in the service of all that is pure, and noble, and kind.

But most of us are just very plain, very ordinary, very commonplace people, and we are never likely to make a stir in the world. And yet I think we all have a gift of some kind. Perhaps it is a gift for plodding work, perhaps it is a gift for running errands, perhaps it is a gift for dusting a room or cooking a dinner, perhaps it is a gift for being kind, perhaps it is just a gift for cheering somebody with our smile. I don't know what your special gift is, but I know you have it. And I know this too if you are using that gift to help somebody else, then you are serving God, you are giving God back His own.

And there is one gift we all have, and God wants it above all other gifts. It is the gift of our heart. Perhaps you think it isn't much worth, but God sets tremendous value on it. He prizes it above all other gifts we can bring. Will you give God back this gift? It is His by right and He gave His own Son to win it. Will you give Him back this gift, or will you keep it to yourself?