Receiving

"For if, by the trespass of one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ."
-Romans 5:17
      This is the day of the year that many people have been looking forward to; Christmas. The joy of seeing family and friends, getting gifts and food, really makes Christmas a special time of year. The one aspect of Christmas that many people like the most is getting gifts. Last year I talked about giving gifts, and why that is important to showing appreciation and improving character. This year I want to talk about something that is the opposite. While giving is probably a better way to show appreciation, receiving is another way. What do I mean by this?
      A couple years ago I read a book titled "90 Minutes in Heaven" by Don Piper. The book was pretty good, but for some reason only one part sticks in my mind, even after reading it years ago. While Don Piper is in the hospital after his car crash, he is helpless and can't do anything he wants to. He can't even roll over to change his position on the hospital bed. It would be terrible to be on your back for weeks on end. He can't get up to walk around, can't get up to use the bathroom, can't get up to eat, get a magazine, nothing. During this time in his life, his friends did what you might expect good friends to do in this situation. They constantly visited him, and they would ask him if he needed anything; a book, magazine, food, water, anything. He never asked for anything at this time, so people would just leave him.
      After a while of this, a friend of Piper approached him. This friend noticed that Piper never let his visitors help him. The friend talked to Piper and told him that he was being selfish. Piper was confused, and said that he is actually helping people by not making them do stuff for him. The friend said that these people love Piper so much and would do anything to ease his pain in this time. However, Piper wasn't letting people love him, because he wouldn't let them help him. Even though getting a magazine or food is not a big act of love, it was something that people could do to love him. Reluctantly, Piper agreed to let the next person give him something. Even after the confrontation, Piper still struggled to say yes to the people's offers. Finally, as one person asked him if he wanted something, Piper said he wanted a magazine. The person's face burst with happiness and he rushed to grab a magazine, bringing the entire stack to Piper.
      I tell this story because it is a reminder that while it is very important for us to love others, it is important to let them love us. One of the five love languages is gifts. All of the love languages are different ways for people to receive love, but also to give it. For some people, giving gifts is a way that they love other people. Don't deprive them of that gift. Just receive their love and appreciate their love for you. Christmas has been so commercialized to the point where people only focus on small and unimportant gifts. Christmas is the time of year where we are supposed to celebrate Christ. The gift of Jesus is far more important than any other gift we can get. Jesus is also the most important gift that we have to receive.
-Smart