How terrible it will be for the land beyond the rivers of Cush. It is filled with the sound of wings. That land sends messengers across the sea; they go on the water in boats made of reeds. Go, quick messengers, to a people who are tall and smooth-skinned, who are feared everywhere. They are a powerful nation that defeats other nations. Their land is divided by rivers.

All you people of the world, look! Everyone who lives in the world, look! You will see a banner raised on a mountain. You will hear a trumpet sound. The Lord said to me, “I will quietly watch from where I live, like heat in the sunshine, like the dew in the heat of harvest time. The time will come, after the flowers have bloomed and before the harvest, when new grapes will be budding and growing. The enemy will cut the plants with knives; he will cut down the vines and take them away. They will be left for the birds of the mountains and for the wild animals. Birds will feed on them all summer, and wild animals will eat them that winter. At that time a gift will be brought to the Lord All-Powerful from the people who are tall and smooth-skinned, who are feared everywhere. They are a powerful nation that defeats other nations. Their land is divided by rivers. These gifts will be brought to the place of the Lord All-Powerful, to Mount Zion.” Isaiah 18

When do you give gifts?

These verses in Isaiah refer to a time indicated not by a specific date but marked by a series of events, one leading to another. The time guidelines are given so the hearer will know when the appropriate time will be to present a gift to the Lord. In order to mark the specific time, the hearer will need to pay attention. God is intentional about calling us to attention because he wants us to pay attention to him with intention. He knows that our relationship with him will greatly prosper when we’re actively engaged with his will and provision.

Marking the calendar with a specific day a gift is supposed to be presented would be much easier. We’d know exactly what to do and why. Many of the feasts of the Old Testament fall into this category. Christmas and Easter are probably the closest we have as New Testament believers, but if we’re honest, God didn’t direct us to organize special services, plays, and programs for these holidays. We don’t really know the specific date to celebrate Jesus’ birth. The date of Easter, on the other hand, changes each year, yet it’s more consistent with the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. Early church leaders determined to keep the observance of Easter in relation to the Jewish Passover, because Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection occurred after Passover. The Jewish holiday calendar is based on solar and lunar cycles, so observed feast dates shift from one year to another.

Let’s consider what God’s Word says about gifts, specifically in the New Testament.

When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. They came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:10-11)

There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do. Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom, and the same Spirit gives another the ability to speak with knowledge. The same Spirit gives faith to one person. And, to another, that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. The Spirit gives to another person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy. And he gives to another the ability to know the difference between good and evil spirits. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages and to another the ability to interpret those languages. One Spirit, the same Spirit, does all these things, and the Spirit decides what to give each person. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a mature person, growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection. (Ephesians 4:12-13)

Gifts aren’t seasonal. We can give and receive gifts any time. Perhaps one of your love languages is gift-giving. You find any excuse possible to give a gift, because it is how you pour into people in your life. But gift-giving isn’t everyone’s default setting. In fact, some people feel as if gifts are silly, a waste of time and money. From God’s perspective, gifts are an expression of his love. He pours gifts into us because he loves us. His love is instructive. He wants us to pour out his love onto others, which is why his gifts equip us to work in the purpose he has created for each of us. Our gifts are not to be kept to ourselves. We’re to share the enjoyment of them. Our gifts are for our benefit but only in the context of our relationship with God and the relationships we have with others. Our gifts are to be used to glorify God, including working and living together in a biblical community with people around us and around the world.

Receiving, using, and sharing the gifts God gives us aren’t defined by time but by a lifetime of live-out-loud faith. Our hands and hearts need to be open to receiving what God wants to gift us – whenever that might be. Our hands and hearts need to be open to giving what God wants to gift others – whenever that might be. Gift-giving isn’t seasonal…unless you consider an entire life of faith a season!

How will you give God’s gifts today?

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