Day 34 of Lent: Gifts and abilities
Our verses today focus on gifts and abilities – a subject which often elicits an attitude of false humility from many people.
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
Maybe you didn’t see your gifts or abilities listed in those verses, but that doesn’t mean they are not important. What is important is the first four words “So Christ himself gave.” Whether your gifts and abilities are listed in these verses or not, God gave you those specific gifts and abilities you have.
Paul also reminds us of another important fact, “so that the body of Christ may be built up.” In that phrase Paul reminds us that God did not give us our gifts and abilities to drawn attention to ourselves or for our own benefit or self-glory. God gave us our gifts and abilities to build up one another as part of the body of Christ.
So now we need to address false humility which so often emerges when the matter of gifts and abilities comes up. Don’t withhold your blessing from others. Do all you can to understand exactly what the gifts and abilities are which God gave you and then seek to find how you can use the for the best of others in the body of Christ in whatever part of God’s kingdom he gives you the opportunity to serve.
In other words, don’t give up on your gifts and abilities and the privilege to use them as a blessing for others.