7th Day of Christmas

ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME, seven swans a' swimming.

You know those carnivals with the love boat rides made of giant swans? That was my first thought about this day. Swans are a regal animal, often associated with love and marriage. They form monogonous bonds with each other which is a fancy way of saying they tie the knot with a single partner for their lifetime. Translated into the song, the swans symbolize the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (prophesy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and compassion as seen in I Chorinthians 12:8-11). So what does a bird associated with love have to do with Holy Spirit gifts?

The idea that we use this gifts was what God intended for us. That we fulfill their purpose was the reason they were given in the first place- why would you give a gift to someone without the intentions of them using it? Whatever your religious convictions are about the extent of these gifts, may they be what they be. I am not trying to define them, I'm trying to encourage us to use them. That may sound like a contradiction, but if we at least start using them, it is better than not using them at all. Thus, the swan is simply a symbol of us using God's gift for the better. That we complete his love by using the gift he supplied us with. But this day isn't that simple.

If you look up the behaviors of a swan, you'll find something interesting. Lately, scientists have watched swans begin "divorcing" each other. They break their eternal bond with one another on purpose. Also, they have noticed that the swans that don't speak are prone to homosexual tendencies. This is a new thing for scientists and they are baffled by it because it goes against the laws of nature that have been the norm for thousands of years. The same applies with our gifts. When we don't use them or we simply abandon them, we find those gifts become a thing of the past, totally useless to anybody. It is not how Christians were intended to live. We were inteneded to use these gifts to the fullest. So the seventh day shows us something important, that we were given many gifts. So here's to the seventh day- using our gifts.

KB