Gifts for the Good of All

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2012%3A4-11&version=NIV;GNT

 

  

The National Football League recently completed their draft. Out of the first 10 draft picks, 4 were quarterbacks. That gives you an idea of how important the quarterback position is.

 

However, Josh Rosen, the quarterback out of UCLA, apparently thought he was more important than the nine players picked before him. After being drafted number ten, an angry Rosen was quoted as saying, "There were nine mistakes ahead of me."

 

Think about it though. What would happen if when he drops back to pass his linemen don’t block? Or if the center doesn’t snap the ball correctly? Or if the receivers just stand there instead of running their routes? Everyone has a role to play. Everyone has a set of skills or gifts to contribute to the good of the team.

 

⁴ There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. ⁵ There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. ⁶ There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service... ¹¹But it is one and the same Spirit who does all this; as he wishes, he gives a different gift to each person.           GNT

 

 

Just like in football, we have a role to play in the Body of Christ. The Spirit has given us gifts to be used for the good of the “team”. It may not be one of those gifts listed in 1 Corinthians, but, the gifts of the Spirit are not limited by lists.

 

What are you good at doing? What do you enjoy doing? What do you feel passionate about? What is the highlight of your day, your week, your month, your year? Figure out the answers to these questions, and you’ve discovered the gifts that God has given you. Then, find a way to use them in His service.

 

Every Sunday morning, at the beginning of our church service, my Pastor welcomes visitors and then says, “My name is Jerry Kasberg. I’m one of the ministers here because each of us is gifted to care for one another.”

 

In other words…

 

⁷ The Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all.              GNT

 

 

 

 

“WE” vs “THEY”

Philippians 2: 1-11

 

Many months ago, our church was in turmoil over choices/decisions being made which were unpopular (not unbiblical) leading to some dissention, adversarial confrontations and lack of trust.  I found myself thinking and commenting (a more civilized term for “angrily spewing”) about others who did not agree with me and were being “so negative.”

 
One day, right in the middle of another one of my tirades about “them,” shaking my finger at an invisible, mostly unknown group of “They,” God quietly asked, “Who are ‘They’?”  And answered the question Himself in a way that made me stop mid-sentence: “Don’t you and “they” attend the same services?  Belong to the same body of believers – My body? Want the best for my Church?”  The light dawned in my brain – in the body of Christ, there is no “we” and “they” – it is all “we.”

Live together in harmony, live together in love, as though you had only one mind and one spirit between you. [vs 2, Phillips]

 

Lord, forgive me of my polarizing thoughts, my judgmental statements, my elevated view of my opinion.  Help me, when there are disagreements among us, to refuse to allow my thoughts and communication to disintegrate into “we vs they” camps. Give strength and courage to be able to say, “We together have a problem, let’s work it out together with God’s help.”

None of you should think only of his own affairs, but should learn to see things from other people’s point of view. [vs 4, Phillips]

 
There’s an older contemporary song that says:

            We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,

And we pray that our unity will one day be restored

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

Can we be one? Can our unity be restored? Can we come together to solve our differences?  Can we do it?  Only as we allow our Mighty God to guide us and have His way in our midst.

 

Dear, Lord Jesus, help us listen to You and to one another as we seek to live well together as Your Church. “Above all things [help us] be loving, humble, united”*

 

*from the introduction note for Philippians 2: 1-11 in Phillips translation

1 Corinthians 12:12-26

Imagine That

One of my favorite come back phrases is “imagine that.” I generally use it in a light hearted way when I’m told something that is not really surprising, like “The Brewers lost.” or when my daughter says, “I’m going to be late.” Either aloud or in my mind I say, “Imagine that” and then I smile.

I do imagine many things, but I also hope, dream and pray. At times I pray so long and hard I become exhausted because it seems my prayers will go unanswered.

Often my prayers are for healing people both physically and emotionally, but most of the time my prayers revolve around relationships and peace. Our God is a relational God, and the bible screams with pleas for people to love and respect one another. The letter Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12 about the body having many parts is a beautiful expression of how we as The Body of Christ are to view ourselves and each other.

We are all different yet part of the same body,  The Body of Christ. We need each other. When one part feels less significant, that one must be taken care of and honored by the other parts.

“so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored every part rejoices with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:25-26

This speaks to jealousy, envy, passing judgment, and a host of other negatives that divide us. I long for this type unity in relationships within families, churches, communities, and the world in general, but that type of peace and unity begins with me and you.

We are all part of something so big and great we can’t even imagine. “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be?” 1 Corinthians 12:18-19

United we stand, divided we fall.

Oh what a world we could have if only we would see ourselves as one. What a difference we could make if The Body of Christ had an attitude of togetherness, continually honoring and supporting each other!

Just Imagine That!

 Read/Listen to 1 Corinthians 12:12-26