LENTEN READINGS AND REFLECTIONS

DAY 28

Reading:1st Corinthians 10:1-16:24

The second half of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians deals in large part with the place of spiritual gifts and their use in the Church.

Spiritual gifts are those unique and special gifts that you are given when you surrender your heart to Christ and are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. You are, at that point, given special abilities that you did not possess before. The list of spiritual gifts can be found in 1 st Corinthians 12.

When I became a Christian I was given the spiritual gift of teaching. It was not something that I did very easily prior to my conversion. In fact, I was terribly frightened of speaking in public and not very good at it. But when I became a believer I experienced a strange new desire. I began to want to communicate what I had learned in the bible. I actually looked for opportunities to do it. God provided them. Soon I was teaching Sunday school. Later I was given the opportunity to serve as youth minister. And, well, now I am a pastor. God gave me the gift, gave me the desire to use it, and then provided me the opportunity to hone and exercise it.

The same thing will happen to you but it may not happen immediately. If you are a new Christian, God sometimes waits until you have grown a bit before he gives you an awareness of your spiritual gift. There are good reasons for this.

Spiritual gifts, as Paul notes, are not primarily for the benefit of the one gifted. God did not give me the gift of teaching so that I could fulfill myself or to build my self esteem. He gave me the gift of teaching so that he could use me to build up his Church. All spiritual gifts are given for that primary purpose, to build up the body.

Of course, using your gifts for the edification of the Church does result in a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction, but that sense is the bi-product of service, not the goal.

The Corinthians misunderstood this. Many were using their spiritual gifts to call attention to themselves. Some were using gifts publicly that were intended for private use (like the gift of tongues).

One of the most difficult lessons to learn about the Christian life is that self-sacrifice brings far more joy and satisfaction than efforts at self-fulfillment. Nowhere is this principle more evident than in the area of spiritual gifts.

Jesus taught that you must lose your life in order to find it. Living for him and giving to others is the secret to finding peace in this life.

You have been given many natural gifts and at least one spiritual gift.

How have you used them? Are you giving your all for Christ? Are you building up his Church?

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