POSTED 23 DECEMBER, 2009

Gifts: Love, Thank, and Bless Them

by Mark Huey
mark@outreachisrael.net

reproduced from the McHuey Blog

The waning months of the secular year typically create opportunities for family and friends to be together over many of the different holidays celebrated. School vacations, coupled with many taking the last week of the year off from work, generally guarantees that interactions with loved ones will occur. While many take these occasions to eat sumptuous meals together, or travel to warmer or snowier climes, or entertain themselves at theaters or sporting events, or simply take advantage of shopping bargains—the concept of being thankful for the gifts of relationships received should never be overlooked. But lamentably, with the distracting hubbub of seasonal activities, many neglect yet another annual chance to not only extend sincere love to one’s family and friends, but also thank them for being who they are, and wholeheartedly blessing them.

While contemplating these realities, and in particular the bestowing of gifts, a number of Scriptures came to my mind, which further amplify the importance of taking some time to properly express lovingkindness, thankfulness, and blessings to those who are here today—but for some reason are people who could be gone tomorrow. Since no one knows what tomorrow will bring (James 4:14), please consider the opportunity to touch others by words—or perhaps even by your hands and arms—of unconditional love. These are things that can be meaningfully received by such providential gifts—gifts of people who are your loved ones and close friends—placed to you by birth or proximity.

For every person who has ever lived, there is a directive that applies to all without reservation: this is the command to “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). To honor, respect, or place a great deal of weight upon the two people who bore you and perhaps raised you, is the one commandment of the Decalogue that has a commensurate blessing attached to it (Ephesians 6:2). By genuinely respecting your parents, one can have a prolongation of his or her lifespan. If perchance your parents are still among the living, then it is highly recommended that you let them know how much you appreciate all that they have done for you—recognizing that you will never be able to fully know all that has been done! On the other hand, if you have had some issues with your parents over the years, then it is high time that you resolve whatever it is that has been bothersome. If necessary, repent of whatever feelings or thoughts that might be considered disrespectful, and try to make amends either by conversation or through prayers. After all, whether you admit it or not, your parents were a Divine gift to you!

On the other side of the equation, since all humans have initially been children, then it is critical for parents to recognize that they have been born as gifts to them from the Lord. The Psalmist considers children to be a reward, or almost like compensation, from a loving, Heavenly Father: “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward” (Psalm 127:3). Parents need to let their children know how they are considered a blessed gift or reward from the Creator of all things.

How important is it that parents let their children know how special they are, given whatever abilities, talents, and gifts (and even disabilities) they might possess? Imagine if you were a child, hearing from your parents on a regular basis, just how thankful they are for your existence. Then, consider the positive thoughts that would abound if your parents were frequently and sincerely blessing you with not only their words—but with their actions. If you are a parent, do not wait until your final days to bless your children and grandchildren (cf. Genesis 48). Instead, bless your family, and even extended family, quite often, recognizing the innate power of speaking blessings upon those you are related to! Whether it is a quiet moment between you and a loved one, or a proclamation made at a family gathering, the exhortation is to simply do it, and do it often from the heart!

Remember that even though we might be able to choose our friends, we are not able to choose our family, as God has uniquely placed our family into our lives for a reason. Take some time during this upcoming year to really let your brother or sister or cousin or whomever—know how much you truly love them and want to bless them for simply being there for you down through the years. While it might seem a little awkward, perhaps given some of the things that have transpired, do not let fear keep you from expressing the appreciation that you should have been showing all along. Remember the proverb that, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). Know that when adversity arises in life, it will often be the sibling who rises to the occasion to help you. Thank your family members in advance for being there, even if they are reticent to assume the role of a comforter or provider in times of trouble. When all is said and done, it will most likely be your siblings who stand there with you. Such is the intrinsic love and bond that surpasses understanding!

After considering how to love, thank, and bless your family members, there might also be someone else who you need to express some intimate feelings toward. The most important person who married people need to express love and genuine respect for is their husband or wife. Unlike our parents, siblings, or children—who we do not choose—we willfully choose to become one flesh with our husband or wife in the marital union. Above all, this person, who probably knows you better than your parents, siblings, children, or friends, needs the greatest expression of your love, respect, thankfulness, and blessing. The Apostle Paul devotes a small paragraph regarding this, which I think cannot really be improved upon. As a man, I have always taken instruction from Paul’s teaching,

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah also loved the [assembly] and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the assembly in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Messiah also does the assembly, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh [Genesis 2:24]. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Messiah and the [assembly]. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:25-33).

As you can read, the concept of loving, respecting, honoring, thanking, and blessing those who should mean the most to you, is not some ancient ritual buried in the depths of some antiquated text. Instead, these actions have been explained and exemplified by those who have called upon the Lord for millennia. In many regards, these comparisons the love of husband for wife, as compared with the Messiah’s love for His people, are but a further amplification of the ancient blessings that Moses told Aaron to speak over the Israelites.

On a certain level, what Moses told Aaron to speak over the Ancient Israelites is a primer for one receiving the blessings of the Lord. The Aaronic Benediction includes a message that is not just intended for the weekly Shabbat service, but conveys something that we should be demonstrating to our spouses, children, parents, siblings, friends, and colleagues every day.

“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.’ So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them” (Numbers 6:23-27).

By demonstrating a gift of blessing—via the power of the Holy One—to our closest relatives and friends, we can directly point them to the ultimate gift that comes in the person of the Messiah Yeshua and His sacrifice for our sins at Golgotha (Calvary). We all know that as former sinners, separated from God, that there must have been a penalty paid for our transgressions. Thankfully, the Lord Yeshua received this penalty on our behalf, and in turn we have been given eternal life (Romans 6:23).

Eternal life is a gift that is beyond words. What love do we express by sharing God’s gift of redemption with our loved ones? What thankfulness should we have that we believe in the Messiah’s redemptive work? Do we demonstrate that knowing the Lord is really a great blessing?

Give these gifts to your family and friends this time of the year. You will not regret it! You might start a pattern that is maintained not only next year when the Winter season arrives, but perhaps for generations to come!

Our actions speak much louder than our words! Give the gifts of love, thanks, and blessings that keep on giving…

Until the restoration of all things…

Mark Huey (B.A., Vanderbilt University in History and Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) is the Director of Outreach Israel Ministries (www.outreachisrael.net). He is the author of several books, including: TorahScope, Volumes I & II, and Counting the Omer: A Daily Devotional Toward Shavuot. He is also co-author of Hebraic Roots: An Introductory Study.