God has given every one a gift…Despite the fact that you may feel like you have no talents or gifting, God has indeed bestowed a gift upon you. Did you then realize that it is designed to be used for the building up of His Church and service of others? Indeed, we are called and responsible to return this gift to Him in sacrificial service for the furtherance of His glory. You are His hands and feet! In this laying down of our gifts and talents at His feet, we will find the greatest joy – in service to Him!
This is part 3 of our series on Undistracted Devotion: how to live sacrificially for the Lord whatever your season of life. Read part 1 where we presented the call, and part 2 – we discussed contentment, living at home (specifically for singles), and realizing that service will be a sacrifice.
Everyone has been given a gift
Romans 12:1-8 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…for as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
The commission in Romans 12 is to present our bodies as a sacrifice unto the Lord by using the gifts He has given us for the building up of the body. Using your gift is a means of offering up a life of worship to our King! It is apparent by verse 2 that the world will tempt us to live for our own desires, self-fulfillment, and the pursuit of personal happiness, but they are deceiving lies of the enemy to make us ineffective. The true joy comes in laying ourselves down for the true King. There are many members, and many gifts. We are all uniquely gifted! The call is to use them!
Jesus tells the parable of the talents given to the three men in Matthew 25:14-30. He gives this parable I believe to give a small picture of what the kingdom of Heaven will be like. If we are investing the gifts, possessions, money, and resources that he entrusts to us to bring forth profit and great fruit, we will have great reward in His Kingdom. How else could this be accomplished except my offering them up in worship to Him? That is an investment!
1 Corinthians12 gives another list of gifts.The truth that resounds in verses 14-20 is that we are not to compare our gifts one with another. “If the foot should say, ‘because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body…If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing?” (verses 15, 17)
He choices and distributes gifts as He choices. Some may have the outward appearance of superiority (such as teaching gifts, for instance), but the gifts of service in the background are just as valuable. Each gift is equally valuable and important. Without one another and the display of each gift, the body will not be built up nor will it be able to function properly.
The reality is…if we do not seek to use our gift or compare, judge or look down on another’s gifts, we could very well in effect be tearing down the body of Christ (whether it be in our family, community, church and to the nations)!
What’s Your Gift?
If you do not know what gift you have, ask! Seek the Lord and ask those who know you best. I did this at one point, asking my parents, “where do you think I am gifted in? What do I do well?” My parents responded by telling me that I had a gift in organization and administration. Wow! Surprisingly enough, I needed to hear it from their mouths to believe it.
The second thing to consider is: what do you enjoy doing? What kind of tasks do you find joy in accomplishing? Do you enjoy teaching? Do you find inspiration in administrating or organizing an event? How about showing mercy? Giving? Service?
I challenge you to pray and seek the Lord for confirmation as to your gifting. You do not have to be limited to one, and can always grow in other areas. I do not feel especially gifted in creativity. It was given to my sister, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t strive to be creative in serving my family, making my home a haven, or in creatively preparing a meal for someone. It will definitely stretch me out of my comfort zone, but it is a wonderful learning experience. God does not call us to perfection, He calls us to humility (which in essence is reality)!
Finally, ask: How can I use this gift to bless others? How can I use this talent for God’s glory?
God uses the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary
Each has been given a unique gift, but we are all called to serve others by displaying that gift! We are all ordinary people that can be used by God to accomplish extroadinary things, if we offer ourselves up in humble service to the King. We are all lowly in comparison to our Savior and the great sacrifice He paid on our behalf.
That He would consider using us is a complete mystery and yet it is a high privilege to be His hands and His feet and just go forth and do His work! Better to feel inadequate an insignificant because He will get all the glory! Get up and press towards the mark to win the prize of the upward call of Christ Jesus!
A gift (undeserved display of love) is given to you from the King to be given as a gift to others! You are just the mailman carrying and delivering the gift from the Sender, Christ Jesus!
Our pastor is teaching on Spritual gifts right now and it is a great series. Our church site currently has up a tool that provides you with a personalized analysis, Not a test, but a simple questionnaire giving you a profile of your God given spiritual gifts. http://www.fairparkbaptist.org/SpiritualGifts/SpiritualGifts.html If you are unsure of your gift feel free to use it, it’s not just for our church family.