Romans 12: 4 – 8
“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
Being “one body” is something we need to remind ourselves. A body functions well when all the parts are working. Sure, we can live with some parts of our bodies missing, but a totally healthy body is best. A church functions well when its people use their gifts from God.
So, what are the gifts mentioned in these verses?
Prophecy is mentioned again. That is a gift that the early church had because they were without the New Testament that we have. The gift of teaching is also mentioned again. Remember that is “someone who can shepherd, oversee, train, coach, lead others”. To be mentioned again, makes it sound like it must be important. And it is important that people who start attending a church are taught what it means to be a Christian, and that young believers are helped to get strong in their faith. But for a church to function well, it needs way more than the teachers.
Serving others. That’s helping people in some way. You might help to keep your church clean. You might help in the kitchen for coffee hours or church dinners. You might work in the tech booth to keep those microphones working at the right level. You might wander the halls of the children’s area to make sure they are safe, and help some young child who is looking for something. You might take a dinner to someone who needs some help. There are so many ways you can help at the church, and help people who attend the church.
Encourage others. Do you know a person who tends to compliment others? Someone who tells people they did a good job? Someone who will say that game you played with the Junior Youth was so good. Where did you find it? Think for a moment. How much do you encourage others? I remember when I first started teaching, I tended to focus on what needed to be improved. Isn’t that the most important thing for students? But as years went by, I discovered that encouraging a student made more of a positive difference that my critique. Now, I don’t think encouraging people is my gift – I have to work at it. But God does give people that gift of encouragement, so don’t hesitate to encourage people at the church: the pastor, the ushers, the tech folks, the coffee bar people, the Sunday School teacher, etc.
That’s a lot to take in. Do you have the gift of teaching, serving or encouraging? Are you using it at your church?
Our song for today is Send Me Lord by Matt Redman.