Gifts and Humility

The Coliseum in Rome

Scripture:

Rom. 12:3   For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵ so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶ We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸ the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Observation:

Every follower of Jesus Christ is to live and serve humbly before God and within the Christian community. We are to work and function as one body, and to use our gifts for the whole body. We have to assess ourselves and then use our gifts for the common good. Corporately, we minister to this world, each using his/her gifts which are reflected in the God-given diversity that exists within the church. Paul is concerned about the holiness and unity of the church as this becomes a witness to the world. 

Application:

Today opens up a new chapter in our lives. For the last two and a half years we have been living in a bit of limbo as we moved into a temporary space that was simply to be transitional for a few months. We lived in, what we lovingly called, “the barn.” It was a metal out-building that had been used for a taxidermy school. It was warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and provided us with a cozy space. However, it took much longer than we had anticipated to finish our permanent space and it had an impact on the simple tasks of daily life, but today I’m enjoying this new home and getting back into some of the routines of life. Honestly, on my schedule, a bit of routine feels really good. 

I’m digging back into Romans and Paul’s concerns about the church there. I’m touched by the fact that each follower of Christ is to first and foremost think humbly about themselves. Paul ran into problems with the church in Corinth, where people were arguing about their giftedness. People thought that certain spiritual gifts were better than others. Of course, there were those who thought that the more visible gifts were better. They began to think of one another in ways that were not helpful, comparing their gifts. Now, Paul was trying to lay some groundwork for the church in Rome. The unity of the church would play a significant role in their witness to the world, and as we know, Rome became foundational in the history of Christianity. 

The imagery of a physical body is helpful here. Each body part has its own function and responsibility. The church needs many different people, each using their own gifts to the glory of God. We need those who will prophesy, or preach. We need the church to minister, and this is seen as the shepherding role, along with teaching. We need those who are willing to do the hard work of academic study to be willing to teach in the Christian community. The exhorter is the encourager! Who doesn’t need encouragement? What if let those encouragers go and they blessed our socks off? That would be fun. There are others who are blessed with financial resources and they are to be givers with a generous heart and spirit. The church also needs leaders, who take their responsibility seriously, and lead with diligence. Finally, the compassionate will serve with a cheerful attitude, seeing those within our communities that are in great need, and will challenge the rest of us to participate. 

The reality is that these gifts all work together. When we recognize, with humility, that we have these gifts, we can encourage each other to do all that we can in our area, but at the same time, participate with one another. 

This morning I am rejoicing in the ways in which God has gifted the Church of the Nazarene. We have amazing people who have very humbly given themselves in service to the Lord. Yesterday I got to attend a local church where the preaching was outstanding. The church members expressed their gratitude for a pastor who loved them, called on them, and visited them when they were sick. I went to a Sunday School class where a gentleman used his gifts to teach from the word of God. People within the congregation came and said encouraging words to me. The church gave a financial report, and you can tell that there are faithful givers within this community of faith. There are those leading different ministries, and they are doing it with diligence. They have intentionally reached out to the local school and are bridging relationships and ministering to families in this Christmas season. They have bridged leadership with compassion. It all connects together, and this is a beautiful reflection of Jesus in this world. It is only by uniting together as the body of Christ that we can reflect his holiness. 

In this advent season, may we consider what God has given us, and how we can use the gifts from God for the greater good. 

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the simply joys of daily life, and for a church in which I could experience your body. Amen.