Excelling in Gifts
We made a trip to Englewood today to retrieve our dog from my mother. “Andy” seemed to provide some good company for her while we were away. We turned home to catch the early part of the Broncos’ game. For a while I was thinking, “life is back to normal. We at home with the dog, watching the Broncos lose to the Seahawks.”
But after some yard work at halftime I was pleased to find the Broncos still in the game and able to watch their exciting regulation time comeback. Too bad overtime ended in an uneventful fashion.
Speaking of returning to the normal routine, I head off first thing in the morning to have an MRI performed on my head and neck. This is one of three tests my neurologist wants to conduct to see if there is any significant difference from previous tests and to what extent.
After posting some vacation and grandkids pictures this past week, I want to post a picture of Stephanie and her family. The live in Canton, Georgia, I hope to make a trip out to see them before the end of the year. That would be a first with me traveling by myself!
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…” Romans 12:6
When we were in Florida we found ourselves in the hot tub with a gentleman from New York. The subject turned to football, especially when he learned we were from Denver. What was of interest was how our conversation turned to successful teams noting that some successful college coaches fail as an NFL head coach. Some defensive or offensive coordinators fail at being a successful head coach. The bottom line was recognizing that giftedness in football doesn’t always equate with ability at all levels, especially that of a head coach. The same can be found in our spiritual life and our service to Christ.
The verse above is from one of three main passages in the Bible along with 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 that make reference to gifts given to believers. In this passage prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading and acts of mercy are all mentioned. (v.7-8) The focus is on whatever gift you have been given by God’s grace should be used.
Let’s look these important points of focus in verse six that can be easily glossed over, in the rush to look at the gifts that are listed. We see first of all that there are different gifts. This means being comfortable with the gifts we have, using them as they are to be used and doing so in a way that furthers God’s kingdom.
This is important because it is tempting to looks at those with significant and fruitful gifts and to feel that “to do anything of value, I need to be like that person.” I recall some teens years ago who mentioned their ambition was to be a national speaker at youth conferences. Having attended a conference or two these well meaning and overly mesmerized teens saw the speaker in front of thousand of teens and thought, that is what I want to do. Some of them were surprised to learn that those individuals had established and proven ministries that provided them the credibility to speak at a conference.
Next I notice that gifts come from “the grace of God.” God’s favor in our lives is expressed in the variety of ways that He uses people to accomplish His purpose. We can develop natural gifts, we can learn to function in different arenas with some degree of effectiveness. But what we find is that there are certain expressions of God’s favor working through our lives that gives us the greatest sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and fruitfulness. In our world where “mega-churches” are becoming more common, we still find in comparison to the total number of churches in American they are rare. Why is that? Because we don’t have that many “mega-church” gifted leaders.
Finally, the gifts that God gives us by His grace, “are to be used.” With a few exception, Romans 12 basically says, if your gift is teaching, teach! If it is giving, give! If it is leading, lead! Do what you are called to do, not someone else. Don’t stay on the sideline and let your contribution lay dormant. This is certainly a challenge for leadership; having the right people, with the right gifts, doing the right things, at the right time. When I became a senior pastor I realized one of the greatest challenges I had was being a faithful steward of the gifts of those who were in my congregation.
The same is the challenge for any business leader as well. I recall when I was a vocational high school business teacher. I had a student working at a local grocery story. She was being trained and working as a cashier and was failing miserably. Fortunately the store manager was willing to work with her and transferred her to the general merchandise department. She began to excel in her work and was a much more pleasant and productive employee. It proved to be an important lesson for the manager as well.
The challenge at the end is where we began, “whatever gift you have been given by God’s grace use it, for God’s glory and the benefit of others.”