God's Gifts

-"For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another."-Romans 12: 4-5

There is something you do better than anybody else in our congregation. This is not a subjective idea, it is a simple truth. You, whether you want to admit or not, have been given certain gifts by God, and those gifts were not given to you to simply profit from, but instead to use to God's glory. So what are they? What is this gift God has given you that is to be put to good use? And are you using it for God's glory?

There is a common idea that churches exist to meet people's needs; to be a provider of religious goods and services. On one hand, this is true, the Church should provide for people's spiritual growth. But in order to do that it needs, well, people. It needs you. Your role in First Presbyterian Church, or any church for that matter, is not just to consume services, but to help your brothers and sisters to grow in their faith, and to do God's work together. Paul is reminding us that the reason we are not all alike in the gifts we have been given is so we can support and work for one another, and so that, when we work together, we can do great things in God's name.

You have been given special gifts by God. Find them. Use them. Glorify God.

Prayer: Holy God, thank you for giving me these gifts of the Spirit. Help me to know my gifts and to use them for your glory and in service of others. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[Phillip Blackburn, First Presbyterian Church]