When is the last time you’ve been given an extravagant gift? For my family and myself it was this week. Because of a ministry and friendship connection–and the extravaganza love of a couple–my family and I are spending a week together in a luxury condo at a ski resort … for free (a resort only 30 minutes from where we used to live!)
I’m not talking about luxury. I’m talking LUXURY. From the expensive rooms and million dollar views of the ski park to the fine linen sheets, deep tubs and leather furniture–none of our needs were overlooked.
Fresh flowers and chocolate awaited us when we arrived. Just a moment ago I heard the caretaker shoveling off the walkway and checking the hot tub. I can guess now how the rich and famous live and my heart swells with gratitude.
The best part is my whole family is under one roof. Last night I sat on the floor and played with my toddler daughter and baby grandson. Priceless. In fact we’ll be here for my grandson’s 6-month “birthday.” What a gift!
My family isn’t the only one who’s received the gift of a “set apart place.” The guestbook is filled with notes of gratitude from people (ministry couples) all over the US. With each window I look out of, every lush chair I sit on, each fluffy pillow I prop against I’m reminded that this cost someone something great … and I did nothing to deserve the benefits. In fact, I have little to with with it at all. The gift I’ve been given is a direct result of other’s love for God.
My hosts declare this in their statement of purpose they have posted in the condo:
Our purpose: We will show our gratitude for Jesus in impulsive, spontaneous, lavish, extraordinary to those around us.
And then they refer to these two verses:
“…in as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to Me.” Matthew 25:40 NKJV
Whoever speaks let him speak as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified. Peter 4:11 NASB
Being here, being one the receiving end of such a gift, has me pondering a few things.
1. If someone I hardly know has provided such an extravagant gift, what is my Lord–who knows me intimately and loves me extravagantly–preparing for me in His eternal kingdom?
2. It is a true gift when there is nothing I’ve done to deserve it. I couldn’t earn enough to pay for what has been given freely. Accepting it with humility and gratitude is all that’s desired.
3. With a heart full of gratitude, I desire even more to serve others with the resources God’s entrusted to me. I can’t offer the keys to a luxury resort, but I can prepare a fancy lunch for a teen mom and offer an listening ear. I can bag up some of my nicer clothes for Good Will. I can mentor a new writer. I can serve the children in my church with gladness and eagerness.
I have a feeling my hosts would find joy in my growing list. May God not only be glorified in their acts of impulsive, spontaneous, lavish, extraordinary service, but also in mine.
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| Whitefish Mountain Resort |
Great thinking! And I know it would not only bless your hosts .. it blesses the Father! Imagine if we all aimed to do this once a year .. or a quarter .. or a month!
I love this! I was recently gifted extravagantly with a top-of-the-line, expensive sewing machine because the ladies in my church knew how I loved to sew and how much trouble my 37-year-old machine was giving me. It made me hunger to give, give, give – and to use that machine to honor God in whatever ways I possibly can. I love His extravagance and they way He shows it through His children!