From an early age, it was apparent that I would never be a good singer.  Oh, they let me into 5th grade choir, but later I realized they let everyone into 5th grade choir, I think the “try-outs” just let the music teacher know who should be put towards the back (me).  As the joys of puberty set in, and an awkward singing voice added “cracking” into the mix, I realize things were only going downhill from there.  Now you can find me in church singing because God loves me, despite my singing voice, but I have long ago set aside any aspirations of a public singing disply in the form.  Why do I share this embarassing tidbit of information with you?  Because it illustrates how God gives gifts to people.  Clearly, singing was not where my gifting is, but do you know that as believers, God tells us that each of us has at least one “gifting” that has been given to us by God?

1 Corinthians 7:7 – “I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.”

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 – “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to anotherfaith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

Now your gifting may be different from mine, and neither one nor the other is inherantly better, but God purposed to give gifts to each of us, so that we would use our gifts to build up the body of Christ in love.  Each of us needs the other.  Now I could go on here, about how there are ways in which we can use our giftings, that can actually be unhelpful, rather than helpful to the body (if the exercising is meant to bring attention to the individual rather than God), but I don’t believe most people struggle with that.  Some do, but most struggle with knowing what their gifting is, and exercising it.

That’s my exhortation today.  Do you know what your gifting is?  What things are you consistently good at?  What things do you have a passion for?  Can you notice areas that are not being done well around you?  If you can, that’s may be because that is a strength of yours; you were meant to fill that need, and that is where your gifting lies.  Maybe you just need to serve some in different areas, and ask others where they believe you might be gifted.  My encouragement is to pray and act, both for the revealing of your individual gifting, and then boldness and strength in exercising it for the good of your Christian brothers and sisters.  It’s beautiful to know that God made us all in a way that we are most fruitful when we work together in love, encouraging one another, and praising God for the gifts given not only to ourselves, but to others.

Grace and Peace,
Adam