1. Living a purposeful life is living as a gift and living as a gift qualifies us for eternal
celebration.
When the Giver Becomes the
Olusola Owonikoko

2. When the Giver Becomes the Gift
Olusola Owonikoko Samuel
www.solaowonikoko.blogspot.com
Giving involves three things/concepts: the giver, the receiver and the gift. In every
giving process, there is always a giver, the party that is offering a solution, a receiver,
the party accepting what is been offered, and the gift, which is the offering. We have
already established the fact that giving is beyond giving money; it could be giving a life,
property, time, solutions, prayers, support, etc. there is a way we can give that our
giving is only periodical, i.e. when we have what to give or when we come across someone
in need. However, giving ought to be more than that. In other words, God designed
everyone to become an eternal giver. At such, our existence continually gives, and even
when we are gone, we still give. We are designed to give with every breath, every
action, and always to people around us and to our generation. Friend, I submit to you
that when we do with our lives exactly what we are supposed to do with it, then
everything we do gives to others, in short, our existence becomes a gift. At this point,
we the giver, becomes the gift. The best thing that can happen to any man is to live
according to purpose. Living a purposeful life is living as a gift and living as a gift
qualifies us for eternal celebration. In my honest opinion, true celebrities are those
who spend their entire lives as gifts to humanity. The purpose of life itself is a gift
from God that needs to be paid forward to our generation. What transforms a person
from being just a giver to becoming a gift is discovering and utilizing your inherent
gifts. T. D. Jakes in his book Reposition Yourself, said “…finding your gift is more than
getting a degree.”
Examples of people whose lives became gifts are numerous. Abraham abandoned all to
follow God to a place he never knew, believing the impossible. Moses, Samuel, David all
gave their lives to us as gifts simply by living as God would have them live. Jesus Christ,
our ultimate example was a gift from God to humanity. He is a typical example of a
giver who became the gift for the universe. Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi, Mother
Theresa are all examples of contemporary people who gave their lives as gifts. We
celebrate these people today, not because of the awards they got, nor because of their
location nor tribes. They are all examples of ordinary people who got to extraordinary
heights because they gave their lives to the service of humanity. There is so much we

3. When the Giver Becomes the Gift
Olusola Owonikoko Samuel
www.solaowonikoko.blogspot.com
can do now to help those in our immediate environment, but our best lies in discovering
and fulfilling the purpose of our existence. It could be as simple as birthing a new cause
or intercession. Are you confused about what your purpose is, then seek Him, your
creator. He is the only one who knows you enough to tell you. I recommend to you a
book by Rick Warren, one of my favourite authors, “The Purpose Driven Life” In this
book, Rick noted: “if you want to know why you were born on this planet, you must begin
with God. You were born by His purpose and for His purpose.”
In the words of George Bernard Shaw,
This is the true joy in life: that being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty
one. That being a force of nature, instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and
grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of
the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my
privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die. For the
harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to
me. It’s a sort of splendid torch which I’ve got to hold up for the moment and I want to
make it burn as brightly as possible before handling it on to future generations.
(Source: The Seven Habit of Highly Effective People-Steven Covey)
Are you interested in living a life worth celebrating by generation yet unborn, then
seek Him; find purpose, live your own life and become a gift worth celebrating.
Excerpt from my book, Life like a River
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To get an e-copy of the book, send a request mail to caavacglobal@yahoo.com