The other day, the icebreaker question that was thrown out was: if you could sing like any famous singer, who would you want to sing like? I knew the answer almost immediately: Lauren Daigle. I love her voice. She has such incredible range and her songs are always so full of emotion. I’ve also recently become a fan of Charity Gayle, I suppose she would be second in line of voice I would like to steal like a sea witch.
I love to sing. However, even though my kids insist I sing like an angel, I’m not quite certain. I prefer to keep my singing at home. Though, to be honest, I have always wished I could sing like the people up on stage leading worship. But that’s not my gift. It’s not my gift or my talent! And I suppose, they are different, aren’t they?
We are all created in the image of God. ALL of us. Regardless of our origin, our race or ethnicity, our immigration status, our gender or orientation, our anything. All of us are created in God's image.
As such, we all have certain talents and abilities we’ve been born with. Could be one of the creative talents like singing or playing music or writing, or it could be playing a sport or giving a speech or caring for children. Some people have super friendly dispositions or are super intelligent or super quick learners. We each have our special talents.
Beyond our talents, God also, through the Holy Spirit, gives us gifts. These gifts are supernatural abilities, that is, beyond our own capacities, and are meant to grow the church and to bring God glory.
These spiritual gifts are listed in a few different places within Scripture: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. In Romans 12, Paul lists these gifts of the Spirit: prophesy, service, teaching, encouragement, giving, leading, and mercy. In 1 Corinthians 12, he adds: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues. In Ephesians 4, the conversation focuses more on gifted roles as opposed to attributes, and he lists: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. I do not believe these lists are meant to be all-inclusive.
There are several things we should notice about these lists. First of all, although Christians throughout history have often insisted that some gifts are only given to men and others to women, nothing in the any of these three passages actually says that - or anything close to that. In fact, Scripture implies that the gifts are given regardless of a gender to all who are part of the Church. Men, women, children. Therefore, you may have a man gifted in service and a woman gifted in leadership. You may have a man, gifted in hospitality and a woman gifted in teaching.
Our insistence on putting gender limitations on the gifts have inhibited the work of the Church for many generations. It pains me to think about all the gifts God bestowed upon women in particular that were lost because we insisted on silencing women. Not to mention all of the men who have been hurt by not being able to live out their true gifts, and instead being forced into roles which were determined to be more "masculine", even if they weren't truly their call in life.
As I step off my soapbox, let me get back to gifts. Another thing to notice about these lists is all three lists are included within passages emphasizing the point that all gifts are equal. He or she who is gifted in one area is not "better than" or "more loved than" the person with another gift. All gifts are equal and all gifts are necessary for building up the church. The pastor needs the servers and the teachers and the greeters as much as they need him or her. We are all part of the Body of Christ, and a body needs all of its parts to be most effective and most healthy.
If you are a Christian who believes in Jesus and who prays, chances are, God has given you a gift through the Holy Spirit. Or perhaps, multiple gifts. There are many different ways to discover your gift(s), if you haven't already. There are multiple spiritual gifts inventories out there which you can take, and most are free. Google "spiritual gifts inventory" and a whole bunch will pop up. Take a few and compare your results. Or you can get this book*.
I have taken spiritual gift inventories, and for me, they merely confirmed what I already knew. When I think about where my spiritual gifts are, I think about those moments when I feel like things just... flow. The Pixar movie, "Soul", described this so well. In the movie it's called being in "the zone" or in "the flow state" - a place somewhere between the physical and the spiritual where you are walking in your gifting.
I feel this way when I teach. I feel this way when I write. I suppose writing is an extension of my teaching gift - merely in written word rather than in spoken word. When I do these things, there's an ease about it, an ease that goes beyond my own abilities. And it's like... like my heart sings.
Over the past ten years, I have repeatedly scored highest in mercy (no surprise I was a therapist for so long), with teaching a close second. The inventories usually give you a top five gifts' list, and I often get pastoral in there somewhere, usually number 4 or 5. These inventories are affirming both to the call I feel on my life and in acknowledging the areas I believe God has gifted me in.
Do you know your gifts?
The last thing we should remember when speaking about spiritual gifts, is we were not given them to waste them. In other words, we are not meant to sit idle with those gifts. Consider the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. A man goes on a journey, and while he is gone, he entrusts his servants with one to five talents. Talents back then were not the talents we just spoke about - they referred to a specific amount of money. When he returned, he rewarded those who used the money wisely and even gained more. To the one who was afraid and buried his talent, he threw him out of the kingdom.
Jessu was speaking to believers here. He has left Earth, but he has bestowed upon us the Holy Spirit, who has given us gifts to use. If we are afraid and bury our talent - we may even be thrown out of the kingdom! I certainly don't want that. We will be judged if we waste our God-given gifts. Is it too much of a stretch to believe we will also be judged if we do not let others exercise their gifts, as well?
We were given these gifts so that we may use them to build up the body of Jesus Christ. And oh, does the church need us right now. The church needs men and women with the gift of prophecy to speak into our current situation. The church needs men and women with a gift of mercy, to help heal the wounded. The church needs men and women with the gift of leadership to help guide us in the right direction. The church needs people to live in their gifts.
What are your gifts? Where is your role within the church? If you don’t know, maybe today is the day to find out.
* I am in no way connected to this book or this author and make no profit off it if you buy it - just recommending it because I found it helpful.
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