Thursday Thought -- August 15, 2013

Good Morning Friends,

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:4-8)

It seems to me that every person I meet is wired a little differently than the rest of the people I know. There must be an almost unlimited number of combinations of abilities, interests, and personalities. That is by God’s design. The human population is designed so that we’re not all alike, and we need each other to function effectively.

I have a friend who enjoys cooking for groups of people. It’s not drudgery for him, it’s pleasure -- and he’s good at it! He’s wired with characteristics that make serving others a ministry that he gets great satisfaction out of and can do well. God made him that way.

I have another friend who is the most caring woman I know. She is amazingly sensitive to the hurts that other people are feeling, and hurting people are drawn to her. When a hurting person is talking with her, it’s not difficult for her to listen to them and communicate to them how much she cares about what they are going through. That’s the way she’s wired – it’s called the gift of mercy.

I have yet another friend who is able to see through situations and people to clearly understand what is going on and what challenge needs to be given in any situation. This friend is not always the most popular person I know, but it is as though God speaks through her. That’s the gift of prophecy.

And other friends teach as though they were born to do it. Others rise to leadership no matter what group they are a part of. And others have still different gifts. Everyone is wired differently. It’s the way God made us. And each of us is important to what God wants to accomplish among us.

So, don’t expect to be like everyone else around you. Don’t try to become like them. Instead, figure out how God wired you and how He wants to use you as one contributor to what He is doing in the world. That’s what He designed you to do.

His, by Grace,

Steve