Me? Gifted?
We’re a long way from Christmas (only 116 days to go!). But, do you know what you want for Christmas? It’s not the most important question in the world, but if you don’t know what you want then the gifts you’ll get may join the others you’ve never used in the back of a cupboard.
When we think of God’s gifts to His people and the church it’s never like that. He knows the gifts that are needed to do His Kingdom work. And He equips His church generously for that work. So, the question we need to ask is simply this: do we know what God wants for His Kingdom? If our hearts are with His for His Kingdom purposes we’ll see where our gifts can be used.
So, lets think about Spiritual Gifts … Here are 5 key Bible principles to help us understand His gifts and how they are to be used.
1. Gifts are given to every believer
Eph 4:7-8 tells us that God “gave gifts to His people”, emphasising that “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” – i.e. that God’s giving of gifts is part of His undeserved loving kindness to us. Just as children are taught by parents to not ignore or refuse gifts given in love, so our growth in spiritual maturity entails recognising His kindness and so seeing and using the gifts He lovingly gives us.
2. The many different gifts are part of God’s kindness
The diversity of gifts God provides are not a sign of His greater favour to some compared to others. Rather, God has a wholistic viewpoint – the gifts given are together a sign of His loving-kindness toward the body of His people: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” Rom 12:6.
3. Each gift in each person is essential to church life
In 1 Cor 12:7 we are told that the “manifestation of the Spirit“ (the provision of God’s gifts to an individual) “is given for the common good“. Later in v21 we are told that no gift can say to another “you are not needed“. In other words, God’s gifts are vital to the church, and any one that is unused negatively impacts the health and life of the church.
4. No gift is unimportant
1 Cor 12:15-18 imagines a situation where, in a body, the foot should say I’m not a hand, so I’m not needed. The result would be a body which is considerably limited in what it can do. So it is with the gifts. In fact we are told “God placed them, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.“
5. It is our individual responsibility to identify and use the gifts we have been given
We are clearly told that “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.“ (1 Pet. 4:10). It’s not about waiting until someone else identifies the gifts in us or sends us into service … it is our responsibility to see God’s kindness in giving us His gifts and respond by joyfully using them (see also Matt 25:14-30).
Conclusion
Sadly God’s gifts are sometimes seen as a burden … almost like God has afflicted us with His gifts. The reality is that they are gives of grace: undeserved kindness! They are given for our good, our growth and His Kingdom work. Like a Christmas present that has been well thought through and so is gratefully received, His gifts to us should be a source of pleasure, joy and rejoicing.
So, look out for opportunity in the September Small Groups to identify the gifts God has given you to use.