True Gifts
If someone asked you what your greatest gift was, what would you say?
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 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 discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. - 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Chances are we are not the best judge of our gifts.
Most of the time, our true gifts are those others reveal for us, about us. They are not the things we believe are our most valuable traits.
We may see ourselves as compassionate or understanding and those are wonderful traits. But what is the gift from the Holy Spirit that drives that compassion?
Is it wisdom or faith or love that motivates us to care about others?
In the eyes of the one we help, we may be seen as a miracle worker, someone who managed to move mountains that stood in the way. And yet, we don't see that at all.
The key phrase in Paul's letter is this. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit.
What that means for me is that gifts from God can be turned on by the Spirit that dwells in me. Something inside moves me to act, and that action is seen by others as a special gift.
While Paul makes it sound like we may have just one of these gifts, there is really no limit to what the Spirit may grant.
If we are successful in using one gift, we may be granted another, and another.
To those who have, more will be given.
To those who share the gifts of the Spirit with others, more gifts will be manifested.
Jesus said that we can do these things if we have the smallest amount of faith, so maybe it is time for us to act on what faith we have, without doubting what can be accomplished.
Those who receive the benefit of our actions will see how miraculous God can be through any of us.
More to come...