Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17, ESV

I was mowing my lawn the other day and thanking the Lord for my land and my house.  I was really enjoying the nice day.  I was thanking Him for giving me a nice piece of His creation.  Then it dawned on me.  What would happen to my piece of His creation when I died.  It would go to someone else.  I was reminded of the old hymn, “I give thee but Thine own, whate’er the gift may be.  All that I have is Thine alone, a gift, oh Lord, from Thee.”  All our material possessions will be given, by the Lord, to someone else when we die.  We are essentially borrowers.

So then I asked myself, “If all I have is a gift from God, doesn’t He expect me to use my gifts for the benefit of others?  How am I using God’s land for the benefit of others?”  Beyond sharing vegetables we grow in the garden I didn’t have a good answer for that.

Anyway, it reminded me how important it is to remember that all we have is simply on loan from God.  We can never own anything because it belongs to the One who created it.  All things are from God and all things belong to God.  Therefore, since they aren’t ours anyway, it should be easier to share our gifts with others.

We pray – Dearest Lord, remind us daily that all we have is simply a loan from You so that we may share it more readily with those in need around us.  In Jesus’ name we pray.