NOTES for Mat 10:8
Calling the apostles, the Lord gives them a series of instructions and concludes them with a kind of summary in which He formulates one of the foundations of the Gospel vision of the world and of life: "freely you have received; freely give." These words are important because they can be applied to all the gifts God has given us. A gift, a present, is what this whole world rests on. As a gift it received its being and ordering; the people living in it have received everything as a gift, even life itself. But in Christ's commandment the key word is give. One may possess countless gifts, and all of them may lead to nothing good.
Two things are necessary for the right use of God's gifts. First, one must give thanks for every gift; otherwise the gift turns into something unlawfully appropriated. And, most importantly, only when we give these gifts away do we become like God, that is, become the image and likeness He intended us to be.