Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Use Your Spiritual Gifts

"Do not neglect your gift..."
-- 1 Timothy 4:14a

What are your spiritual gifts? Don't know? Don't care? Maybe you don't even know what a spiritual gift is? The Bible talks about them. We know they are gifts from God. But how do we know what is and what isn't a spiritual gift?

1 Corinthians 12:4 tells us that there are different kinds of spiritual gifts but they all come from the same Holy Spirit. The Bible, in different passages, tells us that wisdom, knowledge and faith are spiritual gifts. So are healing, miraculous powers, prophecy and speaking in tongues. We don't talk about some of those things in most churches these days.

Romans also gives us a few more. They include teaching, serving, encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, leadership and mercy. Did you know that mercy is a spiritual gift? Or that encouraging others is a gift as well? We get so caught up in the "big" gifts, the gifts that put the person in the limelight, that we forget that the "smaller" gifts are just as important. And, sometimes, they are more important. That pat on the back might just be what one person needs to do great things for God.

We are all given different gifts for a reason. God wants us to work together to do His will. Just as our bodies require different parts -- like eyes to see or legs to walk -- so does God's kingdom require different people with different gifts to further His plan.

It's so easy to just let someone else do it. It's easy to say no when you're called out of your comfort area. I still remember that deer-in-the-headlights panic I felt when this childless woman was called to be the Children's Church coordinator. But God knew what He was doing. I didn't but it's amazing what trusting Him can accomplish.

"Do not put out the Spirit's fire," Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. Use your gift. Watch it grow. See it spread. But don't ever ignore it. And don't ever tell yourself that God didn't give you any spiritual gifts because He did. If they aren't apparent to you, ask Him to show you. Then listen to what He says. God has great plans for you. He really, truly does.