Today’s scripture: I Corinthians 12:4-13 (ESV-text and audio) (NRSV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Mark Shoup):
When I was in Discipleship 102 and I found out that we were going to get to take a test to determine what our spiritual gifts might be, I could hardly contain my excitement. I have always enjoyed taking quizzes to find out about my personality or preferences, and I was certain this test would tell me I had the gift of healing or prophecy, or something else of equal flash and excitement.
But once I took the test and the results were analyzed, I didn’t have any of those flashy gifts at all. In fact, one of my gifts I had never even heard of, and the one that I clearly excel at the most, sarcasm, wasn’t even on the list! I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little bit disappointed.
But my teachers were wise and kept stressing the words of I Corinthians 12 to us, that it is necessary for us each to have different gifts to make the Church work as it should. Just like a body wouldn’t work very well if you had ears for arms and legs, the Church wouldn’t work if the only gift anybody had was the gift of Prophecy.
Not long after, I came to the realization that God really wanted me to embrace my spiritual gifts, and in particular, the one I had scored most highly in.
This came at a time when I was out of work on disability with a broken back, and it would have made perfect sense to hold off until I was in a better situation before taking the next step. But for whatever reason, I didn’t, and I began to use my gift in whatever ways I could. Even though my efforts were minor at first, a strange thing began to happen. I could see my gift actually having an impact on the Church, and at the same time, I could begin to see my gift growing!
And it really didn’t matter that I didn’t have one of the flashy gifts, because being able to see my gift helping the Church ended up being more satisfying than I would have ever thought.
Thought for the day: What are my spiritual gifts and how can I use them to do my part in the Church?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.