God Appoints Diverse Spiritual Gifts Yet There is a Greater Gift
Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 (NASB)
27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 29 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30 All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts.
SUMMARY
This passage is titled “Earnestly Desire the Greater Gifts”, and in it, Paul talks of how we are all part of a body. In this body, God has appointed different responsibilities, and he has given various gifts. Not all gifts are the same, and Paul tells the Corinthian church, that had been seeking spiritual gifts to appear holier, wiser, more divine - that we must “earnestly desire the greater gifts.” And still beyond this, there is a “more excellent way,” - love.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
First, I loved that we, “are Christ’s body,” and are also, “individually members of it.”- That I am a member of the church, the bride of Christ, of which he is the head. But I am also the temple of the Holy Spirit, a home where he resides.
As I read the passage, I was struck by the diversity of the body. We are one body, but we are not created uniformly. Instead, we are created uniquely, each in the image of Christ. We have different responsibilities and different gifts, all bestowed lovingly, by a God who knows us and draws us closer to know Him. I think it is important to be able to recognize and cultivate the gifts we see in others, and also steward our own gifts well. I also think at the end of the day, it's important to recognize that gifts are not the most important thing in a person’s walk with the Lord. Gifts are to help build the church and the body, but as Paul says, there is a “more excellent way.” Love is the most excellent way. Without love, the gifts don’t matter. The gifts hold no value unless we are grounded and growing in love.
APPLICATION
I thought about the spiritual gifts I have received and wondered how I am utilizing them to love others. To be honest, the coronavirus quarantine has been kind of a funky, isolated time, mostly consumed by work. I feel that I’ve been pulled into such a long and seemingly unending, monotonous, work-home-eat-sleep-repeat cycle. I feel that I don't have the emotional energy to expend on other things. I remembered the words of a friend saying that serving is how God draws us out of ourselves, and closer to Him. I want to be able to recognize gifts in others (and myself), and be a good steward and encourager, in love. In an effort to rejoin in community and remember the important things, my family began family worship again, and I also applied to join an Oikos group.
PRAYER
Lord, thank you for your love that knows no bounds and continues to open our eyes to more and more of you. Thank you for fighting for intimacy with us and always working to draw us near. You are ever present and ever patient, and today I rest, knowing I am safely and lovingly swaddled by grace. You’ve created each of us so uniquely with our own set of gifts - Lord, help us to know that You are the most important, and help us to cultivate an intimacy with you first and foremost. May it be a relationship grounded in love and growing in love, as we steward our gifts well and wholeheartedly encourage the gifts we see in others. Help us to be a body united in You, help us to be a body that is for each other just as you are for us. Thank you for today, thank you for your constant faithfulness!! Amen!!
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