A Gift Multiplied: A Cheerful Sacrifice, by: Ken Medema
1. Here is the bread I've been blessed with today,
here are the treasures I've found on the way.
Gifts not to grasp or to horde or to hide for a gift that is shared is a gift multiplied.
Bridge
Grace gifts are falling like sweet summer rain;
Given and given and given again,
till the truth and the wonder cannot be denied,
that a gift that is shared is a gift multiplied.
2. Here is the closet where treasures are stored.
Gratefully now let the gifts be out-poured.
Blessed is the giver when grace is the guide for a gift that is shared is a gift multiplied.
Bridge
Grace gifts are falling like sweet summer rain;
Given and given and given again,
till the truth and the wonder cannot be denied,
That a gift that is shared is a gift multiplied.
3. & 4. God take this gift that I hold in my hand,
humble or elegant,
simple or grand.
Teach me again till I learn deep inside,
That a gift that is shared is a gift multiplied.
Bridge
Grace gifts are falling like sweet summer rain;
Given and given and given again,
till the truth and the wonder cannot be denied,
That a gift that is shared is a gift multiplied.
Used by permission, Ken Medema, Copyright © 2007 Ken Medema Music/ASCAP/Brier Patch Music
Devotion
Verse 1: Here is the bread I've been blessed with today.
Here are the treasures I've found on the way—
Gifts not to grasp or to horde or to hide,
For a gift that is shared is a gift multiplied.
The last line of the first verse of Ken Medema's folk ballad, "Gift Multiplied," captures the essence of one of the important lessons of the Feeding of the Five Thousand: "For a gift that is shared is a gift multiplied."
The little boy's gift of five loaves and two fish was not a whole lot. I am sure that in the crowd someone else must have had a bigger and better meal. But it was his gift that made the miracle possible.
"A gift that is shared is a gift multiplied." A modest monetary gift grows in value to someone who can really use it. A gift of love and kindness often starts a chain reaction of generosity. When we pass along the gift of faith, it can travel through several generations. A gift that is given is truly a gift multiplied. Indeed, God has a way of multiplying our gifts just as he did on that hillside in Galilee.
Prayer
Lord God, encourage us as givers. Accept and multiply the gifts that we share. Amen.