Do not neglect the gift that is in you; it was given to you through prophecy, with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. Practice these things, be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all. Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:14-16 HCSB
We are not here by accident. We all have a purpose. We all have a unique gift given to us from God. God made us on purpose. We are told in Psalm 139:14 that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. God made us to be in fellowship with Him.
Romans 8:28 tells us God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. In Jeremiah 1:5, God told Jeremiah, “I knew you before I formed you in the womb.” God had a purpose for Jeremiah.
And, just as God had a purpose for Jeremiah, He has one for you and for me. We all have special gifts bestowed on us by Him. These gifts are to make us useful to Him. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
God created us to work for Him and to serve Him. When we don’t do this, things can become out of balance in our lives. When we surrender to Him and His purpose for our lives, we know He works all things out for our good. We know we can count on His presence in our lives (Isaiah 43:2). When we focus on Him, He provides all we need (Matthew 6:33-34). This gives us peace and joy in our lives.
When we live our lives according to our own selfish, fleshly desires, we risk God giving us over to them (Romans 1:18-24).
Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it.” If we surrender our lives to Christ while we live here on earth, we will spend eternity in heaven with our Lord and Savior. We will have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10).
Partial dedication to the Lord is not optional. We can’t half-way or half-heartedly follow the Lord. It just doesn’t work that way.
God has provided all we need to serve Him. Romans 12:6 says, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…”
There are many different gifts, as we are told in 1 Corinthians 12:4, which says, “Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each person.”
We are all given different gifts because we are called to serve in different capacities. We are all members of the same body with different functions to perform just as our ears hear, and our feet help us to stand and walk. Each part is useful and unique in its service. The same is true for us as Christians; we all have a job to do, and God has gifted us to do that job.
We can choose to ignore these gifts or maybe even use them in ways that do not honor God. Or we can choose to use them to serve Him. The choice is yours. I pray you will choose wisely.
Have a great day!