The Unlikely Gift

When it comes to discerning our spiritual gift, it is important to know that a spiritual gift is not a talent, nor is it something we have trained ourselves to do through a disciplined life.   What makes a spiritual gift a spiritual gift is that it is a gift of the Spirit.  The church makes a serious mistake as it assumes that a school teacher will make a good Sunday School teacher, or that a banker is the person to chair the Finance Committee.  I remember on one occasion some years ago asking someone who was a counselor to serve as a member of the Staff Parish Relations Committee (a personnel committee in the Methodist Church) only to be told "No, my spiritual gift is in evangelism."    

Even as the Spirit gives the gift, so can He be trusted to reveal the spiritual gift to the one receiving it.  A pastor or friend may be helpful in the discerning process, but the Spirit will reveal His intent to one who is open to listening.  Since each one of us is gifted by the Spirit with some gift which can be used to build up the body of Christ, we each one need to spend time listening to the Word and the Spirit.  The witness of the church and its service in the world for Christ is diminished when we keep ear plugs in our ears.  

And, of course, once we discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, we do not need to discuss it with others to gain consensus.  Instead, we need to act upon it with obedience and faith.  We should not be afraid of what seems unlikely.  When God acts, the practical test does not always apply.  When I was eighteen years old, I could not even conceive of speaking in public.  I was such an introvert I could not talk my way out of a paper sack.  Yet, God called and gave me a gift for preaching.  It had to be a gift.  I could never have done it, otherwise.

A Failed Experiment

Some years ago while in ministry at Richmond Hill I offered a short term study on spiritual gifts and then followed it up by leading the program planning group to abandon the traditional way of setting the program for the new year.  Instead of following the prescribed plan which meant finding people to fill certain ministry areas, we made a decision to set our program on the basis of the spiritual gifts given to individuals.  Some of the traditional areas of ministry did not have leadership and some new ones came into existence as someone responded because of their given spiritual gift.    

It was an experiment not repeated a second year.  It drove the people who were sticklers for doing things the way we have always done them crazy.  And while it was one of the many things I tried which did not really work, I have often wondered how the church would look if it allowed itself to be guided by the spiritual gifts given to its members.  The Scripture does say, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."  (I Corinthians 12:7)  It also says, "...serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received."  (I Peter 4:10)  And finally in Romans, the Word says, "We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us."  (Romans 12:6)    

The Word of God points us to a church that is empowered not so much by careful intentional researched planning as it is by its people responding to the way God is spiritually empowering it.   For the church to be led by its own awareness of how it is being spiritually empowered through the giving of spiritual gifts, a measure of trust in God to provide is required.  This spiritual virtue is not always present in the church of today.  Whenever the church seeks to live in such a way that the controls are abandoned for the sake of God being in control, some are surely going to do everything in their power to restore the church to traditional order so that good common sense can prevail.   

No Exemptions

One of the temptations thrown in the way of every preacher like the one thrown out by the serpent in the Garden or the tempter in the wilderness not far from the Jordan River is the one about circumventing the plan of God.  Most preachers at one time or another get so caught up in their own sense of greatness that they begin to actually believe the church is all about them.  While none of us wants to confess it, there are those times when we figure the church will not survive without us.    

Over the course of forty years I went to and left ten different churches and not a one of them closed when I drove away for the last time.  While they may have depended on me for leadership, they did not depend on me for survival.  The Word of God points to something far different when it speaks about the functioning of the church.  The preacher at the church where I worshipped this past Sunday morning preached about spiritual gifts which is the life blood of the church.  The Spirit can be counted on to equip the church with people who are spiritually gifted to fulfill its ministry.   I Corinthians 12:5-7 points the way, "...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."   And later the Apostle goes on to say that the Spirit, "...allots to each one individually as the Spirit chooses."  (vs. 11)   

The church needs good preachers.  I will never fail to argue for that need.  But, as much as it might need good leadership, it also needs people who sense their own calling to pick up their spiritual gift and use it for the good of the whole church and even beyond so that the work of the Kingdom of God in the world is strengthened.  The Word makes no exemptions.  We are each gifted with at least one spiritual gift.  Any preacher who thinks the success of the church is all about the preacher needs to do some ear cleaning so the Word of God can be heard more clearly.

The Shimmering Word

In the morning as the sun brings light to the new day, I often sit in a chair facing an open door and watch what God is doing with the wonderful part of creation He has put on the other side of my front door.  Sometimes there is a breeze which stirs the green branches of the pecan tree and sometimes there is such a stillness in the hanging green foliage that it is hard to believe such sheer stillness and silence is possible.  This morning was one of those mornings when it seemed the gentle hand of the Spirit was stirring not only the large green tree outside the front door, but also the stilled heart which was being awakened within me.  

Some time ago I found myself instructed by an author to look for what shimmers.  It seemed strange at first and then when I opened myself up to explore the possibilities inherent within the image, I began to see things that shimmered in such a way that they demanded the attention not of my eyes, but of my heart and spirit.  This morning as I began to sense being a part of what God was doing outside the door, a Word from the pages in my lap shimmered and seeped into my soul.  From the prophet Isaiah came the words, "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion for you."  (Isaiah 54:19)  It is such a wonderful blessing to be unconditionally loved by God.  

It may be that some of the most precious relationships of our life point us toward that kind of love, but no matter how rich and powerful is that love which holds us to one another, it still pales in comparision to the unfathomable love of the One who created us.  I am surely amazed that He not only loved me, but continues to love me.  And, I am ever grateful for a word like this shimmering word this morning which came in the stillness to speak to me of its unending and eternal nature.  Thanks be to God for a goodness that comes not according to what I deserve, but comes according to divine grace!

Life's Not Snake Proof

Most of the chicken houses around here are not architectural wonders.  The only amazing thing about most of them is that they continue to stand up!  Instead of going to the farm supply store and buying one of those painted trendy chicken houses that has every convenience except air conditioning, most folks around these parts opt for dragging out scrap lumber from other projects and putting together a house that is more about being functional than pleasing to the eye.  Most of them are like mine.  They are not air tight, nor are they snake proof.    

More than a few times I have raised the panel over the nesting box and found a black snake curled up on top of my egg stash.  It is one of those moments which gives you a quick cardiac check up.  After a few such experiences you learn to look before you reach.  It is kinda like life.  We may think we know what is just ahead of us and just beyond what we can see, but every now and again we run into some surprise which jolts us and causes us to come to terms with the fact it is always best to pay attention to what is right there in the present moment.  As Jesus said, there is no need to worry about tomorrow when you have today.

The only One who really knows what is waiting on us in the life we live is the God of the past, the God of the present, and the God of the future.  What I often have been told in some recent days which have been filled with more than just a little difficutly is that God knows what is out there ahead of us and that He has a plan which is at this point unknown.  The important word in all this spiritual help is that it speaks of the assurance that we are not alone.  We are not forsaken.  And, that God knows about the surprises which are hanging out there beyond the abilitiy to see them.  

Glory! Glory!

While out at the cemetery in the very late part of the afternoon which was also the very early part of the evening, I noticed midst the sorrow that took me there, a sunset so beautiful it was beyond description.  I stood there for a moment in a place littered with tombstones that told the stories of lives lived, simply overwhelmed by the unfolding orange glory in the sky.  Most likely anyone who saw it from their corner of the world stopped and took a second look as well.  I only know to say it was glorious.  Perhaps, it was even beyond glorious.    

But, hardly had I paused to see and allow its glorious light to settle in my soul when it was gone.  Oh, it was glorious indeed, but unlike the glory of the heavenly place, it was a fleeting moment of glory.  Heaven is surely such a different dimension of life.  Heaven's glory is not fleeting, but eternal.   Who can imagine living immersed in a glory that does not end, one that forever shines resplendent and full of majesty, one that bears such an imprint of the God of the great throne room that those sainted souls who see want to bow their knees and lift their voices in surging praise to the One who has brought them to a glory of which we mortals can only catch glimpses in the creation around us.   

It is good to know that Jesus said to His disciples and all of us as well, "I go to prepare a place for you."  (John 14:2)  And how we are comforted by that holy dialogue in Revelation when the ones robed in white are pointed out to John, the Apostle and writer.  As John beholds, those angels speak saying, "These are those who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb...and...they are before the throne of God....and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."  (Revelation 7:14-15, 17).  To read the Word is to be blessed with a vison of glory that  so greatly transcends the pale glory of the evening sunset that it hardly seems right to speak of them in the same breath.  Thanks and praise be to the Holy One who plans to take us Home.

Invisible Now Visible

Some months ago now I had the privilege of visiting with an artist in her working studio.  The walls were full of paintings she had done.  Some were no doubt personal keepers and some were waiting on a new home in another place.  It was a delightful experience to see the movement from empty white canvas to a colorful eye pleasing creation.  In the moment I was reminded again of the way both writing and painting take empty space and bring into visibility something that was invisible.   

Of course, there is nothing profound about this observation.  Instead, it is the nature of creation.  Creation is about bringing what was in darkness to light, about bringing into view what existed unseen except in the eye and heart of the creator, and about making visible the invisble.  With God, the Creator, it is not a one time and done event, but something which is constantly unfolding for us to behold.  The creation is not done as might be suggested by the Genesis story, but a work of God which is eternal in nature and constantly in process around us.    

God has placed us in the midst of a marvellous ongoing work.  Every time we see the river up the road, it is a new river.  Every time we see the tree out from the house, it is a new tree.  Every time we see someone we love, there is something new within them.  And when the work of the new birth is done and a new creation is birthed in the heart (II Corinthians 5:17), an invisbile work begins which will soon show itself in the visible dimension of the human experience.