BUILDING UP

 

September 13, 2024

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O most high; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night . . . For you, O Lord have made me glad by your work. Amen.     (Psalm 92:1-2, 4)

I Peter 4:5

 “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”

Serving one another involves a selfless attitude. To repeat our verse again 1 Peter 4:5 tells us, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (NLT). See our spiritual gift isn't just for personal delight; it's meant for spiritual service (1 Cor. 12:7). While we do find joy in employing our gift to help others, its main purpose is to fulfill the role God has crafted for each of us within His kingdom.

Using your spiritual gift to serve others does several things: Using your gift reveals the presence of God. Listen to 1 Corinthians 12:7, “A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial” (HCSB). When we use our gift to serve others it is a demonstration of God's presence in that situation. Isn't that powerful, and overwhelming?  Listen to how this Bible translation explains it, “Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits” (The Message, 1 Cor. 12:7). It may be beneficial to consider using our Spiritual Gift from this perspective: when you teach others through the gift of teaching, you reflect God as a teacher. When you offer encouragement with the gift of encouragement, you portray God as an encourager. When you demonstrate kindness with the gift of kindness, you reveal God as kindhearted and full of good will.

Utilizing your spiritual gift strengthens fellow believers. Consider 1 Corinthians 12:7 once more, which states, “A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial” (HCSB). The term 'beneficial' encompasses strengthening, supporting, aiding, being useful, and building up.

Here's an illustration of how spiritual gifts can impact a person's life. Imagine an individual with the gift of evangelism guiding someone to a faith in Jesus. This new believer then joins an ALPHA or Bible Study Group, there they take in the Gospel's message from someone graced with the gift of teaching. As this person matures in faith, they faces challenges and becomes disheartened, normal stuff right. But then, a person with the gift of encouragement steps in, offering the precise words needed to rekindle the individual's determination to follow Jesus. This journey of spiritual growth is sustained by the diverse gifts of different individuals playing a role in his life. That's what it means to be the body of Christ, that's what it means when we say "we are in this together." 

LET US PRAY

Make me a channel of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me bring your love;
where there is injury, your healing power,
and where there’s doubt, true faith in you.

Make me a channel of your peace:
where there’s despair in life let me bring hope;
Where there is darkness, only light,
and where there’s sadness, ever joy.

O, Spirit, grant that I may never seek
so much to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace:
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
in giving to all that we receive,
and in dying that we’re born to eternal life. Amen.

Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi