Esther 2:18
Have you ever done one of those "spiritual gifts" test? Find out, maybe surprisingly, that you have a gift for hospitality, when you thought your strength was teaching? Or learn that you have leadership qualities, when you've never even been in a leadership position? It's such a joy to know that God has gifted each of us with qualities that will make the body of Christ, as a whole, stronger.
But that's not what I'm talking about today.
Fooled ya!
Do you know the song, "Simple Gifts"? It's a beautiful, sweet tune, written in 1848 by a Shaker named Joseph Brackett. It was popularized by composer Aaron Copland in his 1944 "Appalachian Spring." I heard it yesterday on my iPod. Parenthetically, can I just say how much I love my iPod?? It's like my own personal radio station. I never know what song is coming next, but I know it's gonna be one of my favorites!
But that's not what I'm talking about today.
Fooled ya again!
Okay, seriously, back to "Simple Gifts". The lyrics to this song are: "Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free, tis the gift to come down where we ought to be. And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'twill be in the valley of love and delight." I love the whole point of this song, that life is about simplicity. If we live an uncomplicated life, have an appreciation of freedom, and be where we ought to be, we will find ourselves in the valley of love and delight. Can you believe that was written in 1848, and not in the hustle and bustle of today's lifestyle? It's certainly something we need currently.
What I noticed differently yesterday was the line "tis the gift to be free". I thought of it not in terms of our freedom in the United States, or even in the sense of freedom of religion. I was thinking of the gift of freedom that God gives us. "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Corinthians 3:17).... "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." (Galatians 5:1)... "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)
And then I thought about the gift of salvation, free for the taking, not based on any achievement or accomplishment or effort on our part. "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
... and the gift of forgiveness... the more expensive something is, the more grateful we should be for it. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins." (1 John 1:9)
... and the gift of mercy... because the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23) and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And that includes you. Because "all" means "all", and that's all "all" means. (Go ahead.... say it out loud. You know you want to.)
There are more gifts He has given us. Many more. And that brings me to the last line of that verse from "Simple Gifts". "When we find ourselves in the place just right, 'twill be in the valley of love and delight." Being in the "place just right" doesn't always mean geographically. It means being in a place of accepting the gifts He offers, and it means being in a place of gratitude and appreciation. That is the valley of love and delight.
~ "He has brought us to this place and has given us this land,
'a land flowing with milk and honey'" ~
Deuteronomy 26:9
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