11/18/2021
Through the Holy Spirit we receive love, and many various gifts from God, and we know that we are to use them in doing God’s will, and to bring Him glory, but there are other reasons we have been given these gifts… we are to use them in service to one another, and also as we serve to be stewards of God’s grace. Do we receive a gift from God but neglect to use it as a means of helping and loving others? Do we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, and our neighbors, as a dispensation of grace by using our gifts to ease the burdens in their lives, and to further God’s influence in them?
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:”
1 Peter 4:10 ESV
Faith, love, and God’s grace, are foundation stones for the godly gifts we receive, and to be used in our dealings with one another, just as Jesus is the corner stone that we are meant to use as a means of orienting us in our faith. Some might argue that spiritual gifts are meant solely for worship, or in the service of God, but as we have read in 1st Peter, it is God’s desire, or will, that these gifts be used as instruments of His grace which we are charged with dispensing, and to pour into the lives of others.
Pierre de Chelles was a French architect who is most noted for the work he did in constructing the Norte Dame Cathedral, but his gifts in stone weren’t limited to this work of faith… he also was a sculptor, and when he wasn’t building this great cathedral he was carving stone effigies for the tombs of others. The gifts given by God to this man, as with those of so many others, served various purposes. The gifts given to us are similar. I have served meals many times in the Nashville mission, and some of the food that is given to those hungry men comes from the kitchens of Nashville’s finest chefs. So which was the primary purpose in the culinary gifts given these chefs; was it to feed the unfortunate hungry, or to please the appetites of the affluent?
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’”
Matthew 25:34-36 ESV
I have met many in faith who were obviously given certain spiritual gifts, but those gifts didn’t come with an on/off switch. They used those gifts in doing the will of God, and bringing Him glory, but these gifts followed them into every other aspect of their lives… the kindness they exhibited towards their fellow believers was the same as the kindness they showed others around them. Those who managed church building projects also participated in Himes for Humanity projects.
“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 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.”
Romans 12:6-8 ESV
It has been my experience, and observation, that when God gives a gift it isn’t like a dripping faucet, it comes like a mountain stream that gushes from beneath an ice cap, and races down into the valley… unstoppable, and carrying with it everything in its way. A person’s desire to be hospitable is equally relentless, just as a painter must paint, a stonemason must cut stone, and a pastor must preach. Our gifts are most certainly meant to allow us to accomplish God’s will, but His will is unfathomable; it is deep, and wide, stretching far beyond our ability to see, and understand.
“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”
2 Corinthians 9:15 ESV
We can’t deny our gifts. Oh, we can attempt to suppress them, but like a fire that smolders deep in the earth, they can’t be extinguished, and their smoke continues to find its way to the surface. It is God’s intent that our gifts be with us, and used by us always. Humility, healing, prayer, comforting, encouragement, and all His many gifts are given to us once and forever.
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Romans 11:29 ESV
We have gifts, and we use them in serving God, but are we even aware of how those same gifts bleed over into the world, and draw many to Jesus Christ, and serve the kingdom of God in unexpected ways?
“You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.”
2 Corinthians 9:11-12 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your many gifts of the Spirit. Thank you for your Son Jesus through whom we received the Holy Spirit, and through him the many gifts with which we do your will, and advance your kingdom. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who gives to us irrevocable gifts that we wittingly, and unwittingly, use in your service. Praised be your name for every instance in which the gifts you have given us are put to use. Merciful are you Father that our gifts have been given for your glory, and to be used for the edification of saints, and as a call to the lost. Your grace abounds, and flows from Jesus, and through us into a desperate, and waiting, world. Forgive us our sins Father, and purify us in the blood of Christ. Make us worthy by transforming us in His image, and reshaping the world by our obedience to your will. On the day of our judgement let us see the fruit of the gifts you have given us; even those workings we could not see before. Seat us at your table, and call us your children, made perfect by Jesus, and surrounded by those who our gifts brought eternal life through your grace.
Rich Forbes