Gifts

It is certainly not unknown the phrase "With great gifts comes great responsibilities" (or, at least, it's known to all of us who know Spiderman!). It has been quoted and paraphrased so many times that is now part of our collective meme. However, outside of the specific message that Uncle Ben gave Peter Parker in the Spiderman mythos, I would like to go beyond of what the world has to offer concerning that phrase and share some thoughts.

Let's begin by analyzing the word Gift. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is defined as

1. A notable capacity, talent or endowment.

2. Something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation.

If we intertwine both of these definitions, we should be able to recognize as a self-evident Truth that throughout this Way that we call Life we are given many gifts. These can range from the trivial and mundane to the most elevated and spiritual. They may be really good scholarships, great job positions, a really awesome girl with whom I'm seriously thinking of building a future together or a little child for whom I'm willing to lay down my own life. They are all gifts and, because of that, a certain sense of responsibility is tacitly bestowed upon us; Therefore, when we receive a great gift, we should ask ourselves: What is it, Lord, that you want from me? How can I respond with fidelity to this great gift that you have entrusted me with?

These are key questions. As such, there is also a certain sense of urgency when trying to answer them. Sure, it's not always obvious to recognize the gifts we are given when they are actually given to us. Most of the time, we'll be able to recognize them along the Way. Nevertheless, we should silence our hearts to be able to see gifts that we have in the concrete circumstance of the life that we may be living; to see those gifts with eyes unclouded by our worldly worries, desires and biases; to see our gifts with faith.

Remember that  what we have is not ours (for example, my ability to speak in public, my skills with numbers, etc.) Everything we have are gifts from the Lord that we have to learn how to administer: The greater the gift, the greater the responsibility to put it at others' service for the greater glory of God.