Do You Know Whether You Have SPIRITUAL Gifts? Does It Matter?

Among the cosmic questions we face is figuring out what we were created to do in our lives, and how to be who we were created to be.  We hope that in answering these questions, we might find satisfaction and happiness.  Of course, our particular answers may evolve and change over time, as we get to know better our special gifts and abilities, and sometimes these gifts and abilities are revealed only when challenges force their way into our lives.

Some of our talents and abilities are earned or received through training.  As time passes we find satisfaction and happiness as we do particular things well. We see our deepest longings and hopes fulfilled as we use our gifts effectively to achieve realistic goals.

In using these gifts, we begin to understand that reaching our potential is more important than reaching some goal or goals we may have set.  If we are successful by the world's standards, but are unfaithful to what is true for us, and what we think God was looking for from us, then what is the real achievement in our life?

Each one of us has been given gifts by the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 12:3 - 8, I Corinthians 12:4 - 31, Ephesians 4:7 - 16)  We can use these gifts to live in peace with God's purpose for our lives.  As you use and live within these gifts of God, you will have a sense of doing what you were created to do and of being who you were created to be.

Knowing about our spiritual gifts helps us to know where to place our time and energy. We can begin to prioritize our tasks and jobs (no longer overcome by the thought that everything is of equal importance) to serve God and the community. 

How do we go about discerning and naming the gifts that the Holy Spirit has set upon each of us?  Our gifts are unique to each of us.  Because we have particular gifts, each of these gifts influences the specific ways in which we respond to God's call in our life.  Our particular gifts shape the way we live our lives. Importantly, spiritual gifts are a call on us by the Holy Spirit to serve within the community, thus benefiting and strengthening the church (the Body of Christ) through the deployment of our specific spiritual gifts.  It is by God's grace and love ---- not by anything we do ---- that we have been given spiritual gifts.

So, let's get specific ---- can you name any of the spiritual gifts?  Commentators have found it useful to divide spiritual gifts into three categories:

          --- "gifts of word" -- what we say

          --- "gifts of deed" -- what we do

          --- "gifts of sign" -- ways and signs that point to God.

A person may concurrently live out a gift in one, two or all three of these ways.

For instance, a woman with the gift of evangelism tells a friend about Jesus (word) as she works at the homeless shelter sorting clothing (deed).  A man with the gift of healing works as a physician's assistant in a hospital (deed) even as he prays with and comforts a pre-operative patient (sign).  You may have several spiritual gifts.  Often gifts inter-connect and complement each other.

Here are some "gifts of word:"

     --- Apostleship - for example, a missionary forming new Christian      

                             communities

     --- Prophecy - prophets are called to instruct, warn, correct and forecast the

                          end result

     --- Evangelism - communicates the gospel message through word and deed

     --- Pastoring - able to be a spiritual guide,sustaining people on their journey

     --- Teaching - able to clearly explain and effectively apply the truth of Jesus

     --- Encouragement - comes alongside persons to help; works with the less 

                                able and under-girds people to use and do their very best

     --- Knowledge - ability to stretch beyond the facts and figures to search, 

                            make sense of, and bring together the teachings of God for

                            peoples' lives

     --- Wisdom - being in tune with the heart of God

Here are some "gifts of deed:"

     --- Assisting - lends a helping hand in times of need

     --- Giving - gives freely, with a special measure and delight to further God's

                     work in the world

     --- Leadership - shares information and power -- enabling those around 

                            them to realize and accomplish their goals

     --- Compassion - ability to empathize with others, stand in their shoes, and

                              then act in ways that help them on their journey

     --- Faith - ability to daily see God's will, coupled with the confidence to do it

Finally, here are some "gifts of sign:"

     --- Discernment - distinguish between truth and error, justice and injustice, 

                              what is authentic and what is phony

     --- Miracles - able to act contrary to natural law or use natural law in 

                        extraordinary ways

     --- Healing - an instrument for the healing of illness and restoration of a 

                       person's physical, mental and spiritual health

     --- Tongues - verbal utterances that praise God but are not understood by 

                        human ears

     --- Interpretation - the ability to translate when a foreign language is uttered;

                               interpret the non-linguistic sounds so that the message 

                               is understood

A spiritual gift is not a natural or acquired talent or ability.  We all have talents and abilities and skills that we have acquired through practice or that seem to be innate.  Spiritual gifts, on the other hand, are given by God to advance God's earthly work of reaching out to others and building a loving community of believers in Jesus Christ --- the Body of Christ.

A gift is not necessarily the same as a role or work of ministry.  A spiritual gift is a specific calling upon our lives.  How we live out that calling is seen in the roles and works we undertake.

Do any of the spiritual gifts listed above coincide with gifts you have identified in your life?

Do any cause you to wonder if you have unrecognized spiritual gifts?

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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.

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What Will It Cost Me To Ask For Help?

My friend recently bought a house. One feature that he and his wife especially liked was the back yard.  It was enclosed by a fence, six-feet high and on three sides, giving them a good deal of privacy.  But, there was one problem. Several sections of the fence had been blown down during a recent winter storm.  Each fence section was too long and heavy for the couple to re-install themselves.  If they were to ask their neighbor to help them, it would probably take only a Saturday afternoon to complete the repairs.  But they had never met their neighbor.  Would they ask the neighbor for help?

Requesting assistance from friends, neighbors or colleagues at work, is something many people have trouble doing.  In a society largely based on solving our problems ourselves, we are taught from an early age to take pride in being self-reliant. Just go to any bookstore or library and browse the voluminous self-help section!

There are many reasons people fear requesting assistance, primary among those reasons not wanting to appear weak, needy or incompetent.  There is a tendency to feel that asking for help reveals some kind of deficiency.  That, if we let down our guard, we'll get hurt, or that the information that one doesn't know how to do a particular thing, will be used against them. The danger, however, is that stalling can let the situation grow from a problem into a crisis.

Another fear is that if you ask for help, you are surrendering all control, and that the person you ask to help you will take over the entire project. Sometimes we fear that if we ask for help, we'll get more help than we want or need.  If we present the need to the wrong individual, we may have bought a hovering, patronizing relationship.  You've asked for help getting across a stream, and they're building you a boat!

There is also the fear of what someone is going to ask in return.  No one likes to feel indebted, and asking someone else to come to our aid can shift a relationship's power balance.  Most of us prefer the situation to be reciprocal ---- "I will help you on this piece of work, if you help me with something I am trying to do."  "I will pick up your child from school; can you have mine over for a play date next week?"

One reason asking for help is difficult is that most people have never been taught how to ask properly.  So, we do it badly, sometimes using guilt, coercion or even blackmail. We solicit pity when we want assistance.  We ask the wrong person. We have felt humiliated doing it in the past, so we fear doing it in the future.  Be straightforward.  Ask in specific terms, but do not micromanage.  Make the request in person and in private.  Pick-up on clues --- is that an enthusiastic or reluctant "yes?" Say thanks when the agreement is struck, when the need is met, and when you next see the person who helped you.

Now, there is one more place to ask for help ---- asking God.  It is easy, but for some people it is the hardest "ask" for them to remember.  Go back through the previous paragraphs.  The same issues apply when asking God for help, with one big exception.  God does not require task reciprocity for His help. Our's is a God of unconditional love.  He just wants us to believe in Him, to trust Him, and to love Him.

For what problems do we ask God's help?  Surely we do not ask his help in fixing our back yard fence.  But, we should ask God often to strengthen us for choosing "the right path."  We need to ask God frequently to guide us in following His will, and to strengthen us for averting the temptation to simply do our own will.  We need God's help to endure when it seems our troubles are endless.  There are so many other reasons you can think of when we should remember to freely ask God for help ---- we just need to do it.  We can do it very simply ---- through prayer.

Philip Yancey has written a useful book on prayer, entitled:  "Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference?"   Yancey says that God invites us to ask plainly for what we need. Yancey tells us that we will not be scolded any more than a child who climbs into her parent's lap and presents a Christmas wish list.

All too often we crowd out prayer because in other activities we see tangible results.  With prayer much of the benefit takes place behind the scenes, beneath the level of conscious awareness, in ways difficult to measure.  The very process of "wasting time" with God can change us on the inside.  Importantly, any therapeutic value from Christian prayer comes as an "outgrowth," not the accomplishment of some concrete goal.  Perhaps we often may need the help of both God and some willing human person.

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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this winter at CPC.

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