We’re already well into the New Year and you may not have done so yet, but sometime this year you probably will.
I’m not talking about exercising or dieting. I’m referring to regifting.
Apparently regifting has become commonplace. According to Wikipedia, the term became popular when it was introduced on the 80’s sitcom Seinfeld. There are even rules or etiquette related to regifting and you can discover them in The Art of Regifting, Regifting 101 and 12 Rules for Regifting Without Fear. Some environmentally and budgetary conscious people consider regifting a “green” practice. There is even a National Regifting Day which falls the Thursday before Christmas. Talk about perfect timing. Who needs Amazon when you can simply regift!
Have you ever considered the fact that Jesus commanded us to regift? He has gifted us and because of His love for all people, He wants us to share the gift of spiritual transformation and rebirth everywhere we go.
Jesus said as we’ve freely received, we should freely give. Paul challenged Timothy to pass along the things/teachings he received to faithful men who in turn would do the same. James reminds us that every good and perfect gift is from above. And Peter exhorted his readers to always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you. In other words – be prepared to regift what you’ve been gifted with – hope!
There are two gifts that we desperately need to regift. The first is truth. The absence of truth in our culture is stunning. Rarely has there been so much information and knowledge but so little truth. Jesus reminds us that God’s word is truth (John 17). So, when you share God’s word with someone, you’re sharing truth. You’re regifting, if you will, the truth you’ve experienced.
Eternal Life is the other gift that needs to be regifted whenever and wherever we have the opportunity. Eternal life is not ours to give, it comes from God (Romans 6:23); but, it is ours to share. If receiving the gift of eternal life is all there is to our journey, then our life after rebirth would be rather pointless. We are still on this earth to share, to regift, what Jesus died to purchase – eternal life and all that accompanies it: forgiveness, peace, hope, comfort and so much more.
Here for You is all about regifting. In fact, Here for You actually delivers God’s gift of truth. We are delivering it to hearts and homes across Louisiana using current communications platforms. We regift truth so we can encourage those viewing the messages to receive God’s gift of eternal life.
How can you get in on this regifting?
- Realize the gift inside of you was never intended to stay there. God is not into hoarding. He’s into sharing. He wants you to regift what you’ve been gifted with through His Holy Spirit.
- Repent. This means to turn around and start doing what you’re currently not doing. I believe if more Christians would repent, we’d see more non-Christians do the same. If you’ve received God’s gift of eternal life and you’re not sharing it, you need to repent of your sin of omission (James 4:17) and start regifting what you’ve been gifted with.
- Restart your efforts. Odds are when you first experienced God’s grace, His gift of eternal life, you told someone. You shared it. I would suggest that when you did that, you regifted. God brought someone to mind who needed the same gift you just received. But over time you began to keep the gift to yourself. Oh, you’re grateful for it, you just stopped sharing it. Jesus told the church in Ephesus to go back and do the things they did at first (Rev 2:5). We need to do the same.
We have a simple way you can regift! Go to hereforyou.org and share the videos on your social media platforms. As you share these messages, you’re regifting God’s truth to all your friends, family and others who view your posts.
Some gifts are meant to keep, to cherish. Others are intended to be shared. I believe people are waiting for us to regift what we’ve received from God. The gifts they’re receiving from the world are perishing and unfulfilling. But the gifts God gives us to regift can meet the deepest longings of their heart.
