Wednesday: August 6, 2013

READ: 1 Chronicles 25-27

THINK: That. Was. Riveting. Was it not? Oh, it wasn’t. But the truth is that this passage has something really cool to tell us about the way that God designs, gifts, and calls his people to work well together and bless one another. There was a huge variety in the gifts and the various offices. The musicians would likely have made terrible gatekeepers and guards. Maybe a few of them would have been okay at it, but musicians aren’t traditionally the toughest of guys. And the gatekeepers might not have been the best treasurers. I mean, bouncers don’t tend to be accountants in their day jobs. But God called out certain individuals to do certain jobs. Why? For the good of the whole nation.

This section of the Bible reminds us of Paul’s words about spiritual gifts and their place in the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “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.” This is how God works. And it’s amazing because it gives us an incredible purpose in life. Paul goes on to say in verse 7, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good,” and in Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:10 that “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 

God gives spiritual gifts so that we can help each other. So that we can love each other. So that we can serve each other. So that we can meet people’s needs in a transformative way that allows them to experience the living Christ. Spiritual gifts are about we not about me. They aren’t given to make us proud or for our personal edification, they are given so that we can self-sacrificially serve one another in the church. What an incredible extension of God’s grace to us! God gives us grace through these gifts and transforms our hearts and lives both as we use the ones he’s given us and as we receive and see our needs met by those around us.

So my challenge to you today and this week is to open your eyes to the needs around you. See a need. See where and how God is tugging at your heart to meet it. And then take a step of faith. Commit to God that you will use the gifts that he has given you to meet the needs that he has placed before you. That’s not always easy. It certainly isn’t simple. It requires self-sacrifice. But it is what Christianity, what the church, what life together is all about. It is how God designed us.

I think if you don’t do it, if you don’t use your gifts and follow your unique calling that you miss out on something really great, and that we all miss out on something really great. We cannot be a fully functioning body without every part. But if you do, if we all do, if we are willing to step out in faith, to be self-sacrificial, to trust that God has not only called us, but that he also equips us and provides us with ministries in which to use our gifts and that he – not us – is responsible for the results, if we are willing to boldly trust that and to surrender ourselves and our gifts to him – then we will be a church functioning precisely as God designed the church to function. We will absolutely make an impact and influence our world as they see Jesus Christ in and through us.

PRAY: Ask God to help you discern your spiritual gifts and to show you the needs around you that he is calling you to meet. Then make a commitment to use those gifts and serve.