Today’s Post By: Rae Lynn DeAngelis
While watching some old home videos, I was reminded of a particular Christmas event that gave our extended family a hearty laugh.
With the presents evenly distributed around the room, it was time to open the gifts. Our four year old son eyed his gifts with eager anticipation, anxiously awaiting his turn to be in the spotlight. When the time finally came, Ben chose a rectangular box from his pile – a package which conspicuously looked as though clothing may be inside.
Sure enough, after removing the colorful paper, Ben pulled out a pair of jeans and held them up to his body. We all sat with confused looks on our faces. The jeans were a good six inches longer than his entire body. He said in a matter of fact tone, “I think we’re gonna have to get a different size.”
We all burst out laughing! In the gift distribution, someone mistakenly read the name tag that said BEV and gave it to BEN. The jeans were supposed to be for my mother-in-law. Ben didn’t need a different size – he had opened the wrong gift!
Sometimes in our spiritual lives we open gifts that were never intended for us.
“Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant.” (1 Corinthians 12:1)
Yesterday, I shared how each Christian is given spiritual gifts to be used for growing His kingdom. Some of the spiritual gifts include the following: evangelism, teaching, speaking, leadership, mercy, discernment, prophecy, service, administration, faith, knowledge, healing, wisdom, and hospitality.
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)
We may see someone faithfully and diligently using their spiritual gifts, effectively growing God’s kingdom and think to ourselves, we could do the same thing. For example, Rebecca has the gift of teaching. She really knows her stuff and is able explain what she has learned in ways that people can understand and apply to their own lives.
Tim comes along and sees the way Rebecca is doing her part to advance the kingdom of God and tries to emulate what she does. Unfortunately, Tim’s spiritual gift is not teaching. Therefore, he ends up leaving his students bewildered and confused because he is trying to use a gift that was never intended for him.
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)
We will be most effective in growing God’s kingdom when we use the spiritual gifts intended for us – not others. All the gifts in the body of Christ are equally important, and each one is meant to build up the church and bring glory and honor to God.
“Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” (1 Corinthians 12:15-18)
Learn what your spiritual gifts are and implement them in the arena where God has placed you – the arena where you can be most effective for growing God’s Kingdom. Like my son on Christmas Eve, be quick to recognize when a gift is not meant for you.
The jeans may have been too big for my son, but they were just the right size for my mother-in-law.
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12: 27)