by Tim Hall

Jack can't wait to give his wife her gift on Christmas morning. Finally the moment arrives, and he excitedly hands her the beautifully wrapped box. Teresa's eyes lose their sparkle, however, when she sees the gift: boxes of ammunition that Jack will be able to use on his next hunting trip.

It doesn't take a trained marriage counselor to know that gifts like that don't fuel the fires of romance. If you really want to make a positive impression, give gifts that will benefit the recipient, even if they do nothing for the giver. Isn't that what gift-giving is supposed to be about?

Paul wrote to the church at Corinth about gifts. These gifts were miraculous in nature, unlike abilities seen before or since the first century. The most popular gift was the ability to speak languages that a person had never studied. It was designed to be more than showy. To take the gospel into all the world -- a world of many languages -- would require such an ability. God didn't bestow this gift just to make the speaker feel powerful, but that seems to have been the attitude of some Christians in Corinth.

"He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself," Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:4 (NKJV), "but he who prophesies edifies the church." Don't just think about yourself, Paul was saying. Be focused on how you can benefit others around you.

That's really the focus of our Christian faith, isn't it? It's not about me and my will, but the needs of others around me. Serving others was Jesus' theme in his ministry, and it ought to be that way with Christians.

As mentioned earlier, miraculous gifts have ceased (see 1 Corinthians 13:8-10). Is there a message in all of this for contemporary Christians?

In the heart of Paul's discussion of miraculous gifts, he presented the greatest gift of all: love. The thirteenth chapter is devoted to the potential of love to edify (build up) one another. When people are motivated by true love, they look out for the needs of others. They seek opportunities to do good for one another. They think less of themselves and more of their neighbors. They imitate the example of Jesus.

Love remains on earth. Christians may still exercise this gift if they choose. And those who use this gift will find that its effects are far more powerful than an ability to speak a foreign language without study.

"But earnestly desire the best gifts," Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:31. The gifts to which he then pointed -- faith, hope and love -- are still within our reach.