There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 1 Corinthians 12:4-5
A friend of mine and her husband recently participated in a church workshop which helped them identify their various gifts and strengths. While doing her homework for the workshop she reached out and asked me and a few friends to help her identify three values she’s passionate about and three abilities she has. I think it surprised her when all three of us identified the exact same qualities. What was interesting was that she, herself, was struggling to do the same.
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 another faith 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. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10
I think so often as Christians we get caught up in this list of gifts from 1 Corinthians and forget what else this chapter says. We are all given the Holy Spirit and we all are given gifts to assist the body of the church. So, when our friends tell us one of our gifts is being trustworthy or loyal or even diligent or empathetic, we might not see those as important as one of the “Big 9” and therefore not as worthy. And yet I will tell you having a person managing the church funds whose gifts are trustworthy and diligent is incredibly important!
I’m so thankful that God gave me the gifts of being organized, able to multitask, a love of writing and teaching. I can’t interpret tongues but thankfully none of the jobs I’ve had, both volunteered and paid, required that! I would love to stand on my church stage and be able to sing you a beautiful hymn but that’s just not going to happen. What I can do, however, is thank God not only for the gifts he has bestowed on me, but the ones He has given others. Together we make up the talented body of Christ.
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