The great insight that the Gospels give us is the giftedness of everyone and everything. The very fact that you and are here on this planet earth is a gift. Every breath we take is a gift. If God, for one mille-second would forget us we would just disappear instantly. The fact that we are a breathing, walking and talking human being is all gift.
The actual spirit of Jesus, the world-attitude of Jesus, is to see every person as a gift. No human being is useless. No one is of no value. It is in this giftedness that we are challenged every day. Every day, in our interactions with others, is filled with persons who are the image of God and who are gifted to us.
Our most difficult trials in life will be getting along with each other and trying to see value in every person. We are all in the process of recognizing the importance of the others.
When we are confronted with the man addicted to drugs we need to recognize in ourselves how we are repulsed by his addiction. This is someone I would never want to be! But this man too is a gift to us. We may not be able to appreciate his existence but his life is still a gift.
One of our relatives got in trouble with the law and is now serving a multi-year prison sentence. His family and high school friends are tending to distance themselves from him. He is alone and almost forgotten in prison. But his life too is a gift of the Creator.
Our Christian faith challenges us to recognize the giftedness of each human being. Try to speak good things about everyone because you respect and treasure their giftedness.
One beautiful grandmother caught herself. She spoke of her daughter-in-law. ”Oh, is she a messy housekeeper.” Then she immediately added as she caught herself, “But she is such a good mother!”
We are challenged to recognize the women and men who serve us in our restaurants, the care-givers in our nursing homes, the truck drivers that deliver food to the supermarkets and person who walks their dog by our house every day.
As we take note of the giftedness of others we must also ask, ‘and whose giftedness do I not recognize?’ Who is just invisible on my radar screen? Are there certain groups of people who are not recognized in our culture, i.e, factory workers, First Nations people, the handicapped and the elderly?
The more effort we put into recognizing the giftedness of each person, the more we will appreciate what the Creator God has given to us. We will appreciate our health, our energy and our joy toward the other. We will find ourselves saying, as we recognize the gifts in others, “Oh, how good it is to be human.”
Our Christian faith is very powerful in moving us to see the good in others. All of life is truly gift. How wonderful to be alive this very day to enjoy this giftedness from God.
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