Anyway, when I opened it, I found a new set of pans. I had never had a set of pans; mine were all hand-me-downs from people, so this was my FIRST set, and I was excited. I washed them and put them away.

A few weeks later, Scott came over and noticed me using my old pans, so he asked, “Why aren’t you using your new pans?” I replied, “I don’t want to ruin them.” As I said the words, I realized how silly I sounded.

There I was, using beat up old pans, thinking if I used my new ones, they’d end up beat up, too, so to keep them new, I decided never to use them, but I missed the whole point of the gift.

Then I thought about God’s gift of life: not the one born into the world but the one born into His Spirit, and how some don’t use it.

“…that they might have life”…unwrapping the gift.
“…that they might have it more abundantly”…using the gift.

That word “abundantly” means freely. It’s not about obtaining “stuff.” No, it’s, actually, about being rid of stuff: guilt; shame; rejection; abuse; trauma; unforgiveness; etc. It’s about living freely and passing that freely on to others. Are you using your gift?

Well, ever since Scott asked me that question, I’ve been using those pans, and you know what? They still look really good!