God’s Gifts

Theology of the Gift and the Gift of Theology

The chapters in this book bring to light some of the gifts that God has given us. They are drawn from the spiritual inheritance that Metropolitan Hierotheos received through the riches of Orthodox theology and the life of the Church, from his parents, spiritual fathers, and from saints old and new. They are offered to readers as gifts, to show that the theology of the gift resolves all the problems that we face in our lives.

By perceiving everything as a gift from God, we realise that we in turn must offer ourselves as a gift to God and to others. Gifts express love and the Cross. Instead of identifying ourselves with gifts and becoming attached to them, we must remember God, Who is the greatest gift and the greatest benefactor in our lives. The gifts of God are not an end in themselves. They must not be seen in isolation, but placed within the perspective of Orthodox theology, to enable us to see how God works through them for our salvation.