Editorial October 16, 1926 Issue

The Giver and the Gift

Ella W. Hoag

Generally speaking, men have believed when gifts have been presented to them that these gifts have been given with the expectation that they were to be used in such fashion as pleased the fancy of the recipients. Indeed, it has often been said that if such freedom did not accompany the gift it would be without practical value—that it would still belong to the giver rather than to the one receiving it. Because of varied and various misapprehensions on the part of both donor and donee, gifts have often fallen short of bringing the satisfaction hoped for. Men have even sometimes asked themselves why they should continue to expect to bless others through gift-giving, when so much of disappointment and sometimes even of disaster has seemed to result. All this is simply because God has not been thought of in the giving. The way, therefore, out of all such dilemmas must be through learning to understand God's government in this as in all things.

All Christian Scientists recognize that God is the great Giver; but they do not always stop to remember that He invariably gives Himself with His gifts. It is impossible for Him to separate Himself from what He gives, since He can never withdraw Himself from any portion of His own infinitude. What He gives must ever remain in and of Him. Then His gifts necessarily partake of His qualities, and therefore satisfy completely. Jesus understood and demonstrated all this truth about God's gifts; for did he not declare, "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise"? And again, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."

Until Christian Science was revealed, these sayings of Jesus were but partially understood. Believing, as men did, that God gave gifts to men and then left men to use them as they saw fit, it was not strange that the godliness of the gift often seemed to be totally lost in the use made of it. In "Retrospection and Introspection" (p. 57) Mrs. Eddy writes, "All must be of God, and not our own, separated from Him;" and in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 6) she says: "God is not separate from the wisdom He bestows. The talents He gives we must improve." In these two statements she certainly shows the way out of all mistakes and misconceptions in regard to gifts and gift-giving.

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