“For we are his workmanship; created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
Have you ever pondered your own uniqueness? Many times it’s easier to see uniqueness in those close to us rather than in ourselves. Observing my children as they grow and mature, I often marvel as I see specific personality traits, looks, mannerisms, gifts and talents emerge from different branches of our family tree. In recent years, as we’ve added a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and now two granddaughters to our family circle other specific traits have appeared. I am amazed at God’s creativity! He takes our similarities and differences and uses them to give each of us a distinct identity. Then like an intricate puzzle with all of its individual pieces fitting together to form a picture, we come together to function as a complete family unit. So it is in our church family, the body of Christ. Each of us with our unique talents and spiritual gifts are instructed to work in cooperation with each other to glorify God and edify the church with joy in our hearts, motivated by love, and united through Christ.
What does it look like when we Glorify Christ?
Often when we receive a special gift from someone it is for us to use on ourself or for our own enjoyment, but not so with a spiritual gift. A spiritual gift is given to each of us by God for glorifying Him and for benefiting others. A deep desire to use our gifts and a total surrender to Jesus’ guiding are definite prerequisites to exercising our gifts. The times when I have seen Christ use a spiritual gift in me were those times when I went before Him with a prayer of expectation, not an agenda, on my heart—
“Lord, I want to glorify you today. I want to use the gifts that You have given me. Use me as You see best.”
Another essential is that we must spend time with Jesus! The more time we spend getting to know Him through His Word and through prayer, the more His attributes will shine through in our service to others. We can read in Acts 4:13 of one such example. Peter and John, through the power of Jesus, made the lame man walk, followed by Peter boldly preaching Jesus to the people. Because of these acts they were brought before the Council for questioning. We then read that those leaders marveled because they noticed that these untrained men had been with Jesus!
What does it look like when we Edify the Body of Christ?
What do we see? We see believers building up and strengthening one another through spiritual gifts in a variety of ways. Some spiritual gifts will be public, some will be private. Some may look quite spiritual, others won’t as much. All are of equal importance. All are needed.
We might see the young sisters mentoring the teenage girls in our church. Those with the gift of administration might organize the get togethers; those with the gift of teaching might teach the spiritual lessons; those with the gift of mercy might be there to listen to concerns or to empathize and encourage.
We might see an older sister with the gift of service using her talents to make handmade greeting cards. Another sister, possessing the gift of mercy, buys those cards and using her talent of writing, sends a caring note to someone who is in need of encouragement.
We might see a sister who is a giver—a giver of hospitality. She has welcomed strangers and friends into her home and fed them a warm meal and encouraged them with her unconditional love. As her body ages she can no longer do this in her own home, but she continues to use her gift by making a pot of soup and having it delivered to a mother with a new baby or someone who is ill.
We might see a sister with the gift of exhortation and a love for children providing child care for a single mother and then counseling her on how to turn from sin and make better choices in her life.
We might see a sister, nudged by the Holy Spirit to utilize her gift of mercy by visiting a dying friend. As she and her husband travel to this home, doubts arise in their hearts, “What will we say?” The Spirit intercedes as they enter her room. A family member asks, “Will the two of you sing How Great Thou Art?” As both of their voices blend in harmony, God’s Spirit fills the room. No words are spoken, but all are blessed!
What does it look like to serve with joy in our hearts, motivated by love, and united in Christ?
When we are serving others within our spiritual gift, we will know it because we will feel energized, enthused and full of joy! Serving within our gift will not always be easy; sometimes it will be hard, but we will feel fulfilled!
In 1 Corinthians 13 we are told that without charity, all spiritual gifts are useless! Charity is a true attribute of God. It is love in action! If we truly love God, His love will be in us and He will empower us to be the hands and feet of Jesus!
If we are united in Christ we will NOT compare ourselves among ourselves. We will have a fervent desire to continue growing and developing our spiritual gifts. We will be content to be stewards of the spiritual gifts that God has entrusted to each one of us!
Lori Baumgartner is blessed to be a wife to John, a mother of three grown children, and most recently a mother-in-law and grandmother. She is a daughter of the King and a Kansas farm girl at heart! Her passions are many and include Bible study, writing, grandparenting, gardening and substitute teaching. She is finding that each season of life is a mixture of great joys and great challenges but through it all God’s grace is sufficient! To God be the glory, great things He hath done!
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