outbound

The idea of giving gifts has been coming up quite a bit recently for me. The previous post about being unnecessary was one. This past weekend I was able to spend a few hours with some folks from Southside Vineyard and share some thoughts I had on listening. I started out sharing how I saw what I was doing as not just informing people, but as sharing a gift.

What if we began to see everything that we do as some kind of gift giving? Would it change the way we do things for other people? I mean giving a gift in the way that you don't expect anything in return. A simple gift with no strings attached--no expectation for compensation or gain. My work as gift. My time with my wife as a gift.

Freely you have received. Freely give.

Really, when we start operating out of an awareness that we lack nothing that we need (Ps 23), we can get the movement going outbound rather than trying to take, take, and take some more. I told my friend John that I think I've been having to pay attention to all this giving stuff is because I'm so selfish. The reality is that too much of the movement for me is inbound. I really haven't fully come to the point where I operate as if I lacked nothing that I need. I hear the Spirit telling me that I need to start operating in a way that gets more outbound movement.

Let me have ears that hear and eyes that see.