Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you;
but the kind of peace I give you is not like the world’s peace.
Don’t let your hearts be distressed; don’t be fearful.– John 14:27 The Inclusive Bible
Peace, it seemed to me, would be the theme of the sermon Sunday morning. It wasn’t. The theme was gift. I always like it when the preacher take a text a direction I hadn’t considered! While I don’t remember much of the sermon, I do remember it began with this video.
Gift.
Freely given.
No strings attached.
No expectation of reciprocity.
For you to do with as you see fit.
It’s hard, giving freely. I want the recipient to smile, to be happy or pleased, to be grateful. I hope the gift will be used, appreciated, maybe even cherished.
And there’s a risk. What is given might offend. It could be ignored or re-gifted or simply tossed out.
Gift.
Because we don’t want people to stay sad.