Inspired by 1
Corinthians 12:4-11
“Now there are
varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services,
but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same
God who activates all of them in everyone…All these are activated by one and
the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit
chooses.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 11
What is the proper way to serve Christ? Most churches spend a good deal of time
encouraging their members to serve Christ, and many of them have pretty clear
ideas about how their members should do that.
And most of those ideas are good examples of how one might serve Christ. However even the most creative, innovative
congregation is going to be limited in its vision. Each individual person is a member of the
body of Christ in his or her own right, and each individual person has a unique
blend of gifts, experiences, and perspectives which can be used for the good of
the Church as well as all of God’s creation.
Churches should certainly encourage each of their members to discern
what their gifts are, and they should certainly be willing to give some
suggestions on how those gifts might be used.
But churches must beware of valuing certain gifts over and above others,
because that can lead some members of the body of Christ to mistakenly believe
that they have nothing of importance to offer, or that God has forgotten them,
or that they don’t belong in the fellowship of believers.
No matter who you are, no matter what your position in life
and society, you have a place in the body of Christ. You have gifts that are needed for
proclaiming the gospel to the world, even if those gifts are more solitary,
understated, or behind-the-scenes than we usually think of evangelical
proclamation to be. God created you
thoughtfully, lovingly, and with a purpose in mind that you and you alone can
accomplish, using the gifts that you have, which may not necessarily be the
gifts that everyone else sees and recognizes.
Let us pray. Lord of
all, you created each of us individually.
Help us to discern our gifts and the gifts of others, that we may work
in harmony to proclaim your good news to the world. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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