Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Spiritual Gifts & Love

The bible talks about spiritual gifts. Sometimes people ask me, "Well, what are your spiritual gifts?" and I honestly reply with... "Well, I haven't honestly looked into it a ton. I've always been bent on the fact that God has the power and he will do with and through me what He wishes whether that is helping the poor, doing something administrative, or speaking truth and sharing the gospel with someone. I never want to have the thought... Oh well, I can't do that because it is not my spiritual gift or it is not in my personality to do ____________."

Jesus also says in John 14:12 that he will use us to do even greater things than He did for his glory and most likely this will be through the giftings He's specifically given us to work together. I don't say this with a "Look at me, I'm better than Jesus" attitude (talk about ugly) by any means, but I want to believe it and obey it. So where does the proverbial line fall between knowing your gifts and not being partial to using only them and not being willing to be led outside of your comfort zone?

I think that 1 Cor. 13 says it best: that without love we cannot really use the gifts God's given us for His glory... we are nothing without love.

1 Cor. 13:1-8 "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

With all of that said, I've looked into resources for figuring out what God has really gifted me with. I would say this has been a process of learning about how God has created me, not a one time test. This is one of the best resources I have found about spiritual gifts:
http://www.theresurgence.com/series/spiritual_gifts

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