Tonight was the third time my church's "post-high school/20 something group" has met. Before the groans begin let me establish one thing. There are about 12 of us. We've all known each other for ever and have no interest in turning it into a single's mingles meat market. We actually just like hanging out with each other and learning about Jesus... weird concept in single 20 something Christian culture, I know.
We discussed Spiritual Gifts tonight and this is a topic I found out that I am more familiar with this topic then my peers. I tribute that to Dr. Dale Keller at Taylor University, he exposed me to the idea of spiritual gifts in multiple classes. It pays to have a professor with a Masters in Communication and an MDiv, it was actually pretty sweet.
Tonight spiritual gifts were framed a little bit differently for me. We focused solely on the gifts listed in Romans 12:6-8. These gifts were presented as Motivational Gifts. Essentially, these are the spiritual gifts we posses that kinda get our motors running. When we exude this quality we find joy and our energized through this specific act.
Before I go any further there is one thing I wanna say. This is a topic that Christians are still trying to figure out. We haven't figured these things out yet and needless to say this is a personal belief. Another quick thought is that just because we may not find joy in a specific gift, it does not mean we are not called to show this gift. Just because I do not enjoy giving financially doesn't mean I do not have to do it.
Get it? Good.
For those of you playing along at home Romans 12:6-8 says:
"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously, if it is leadership, let him govern diligently;if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."
So, this verse lists seven specific gifts (7 is also the number of completion and highly regarded in Scripture...coincidence?) Those gifts being prophecy, serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and the ability to show mercy. Now, I know my gifts. I know the three that all have scored higher than all. You wanna know what they are? Ask me, that's for a different post.
However, what I want to write about is the great responsibility we have to discover and use these gifts. For me, sometime I wonder if it would have been easier to be ignorant about my gifts. Live in a quiet bliss and enjoy helping out where I can.
Ha, parable of the talents...that's all I really need to say.
Then it of course brings up the question if we don't use em' do we lose em'...again different blog different time.
For me, the beautiful thing about being a creation of Christ is discovering all the intricacies He has placed within my personality, discovering a desire to serve Him, and most importantly discovering the abilities to serve Him with all my heart.
The thing I am trying to discover now is how these abilities compliment one another and where the best place is to serve, and how I can make the most of what God has given to me.
So good-bye ignorance. Will I miss you? No, ignorance is for fools...and if you wanna be ignorant...look up what the Bible says about fools...it may change your mind.
