Knitted Together (Leftovers)

Yesterday in Sunday School we discussed spiritual gifts and how they give us insight into how God's wired us to function in the body of Christ. Now, I gotta say, that I was pretty hesitant about yesterday's lesson. Part of it was that I wasn't sure there was anything really new to be said about spiritual gifts, and the other part was that so many people have had less-than-stellar experiences with spiritual gifts tests over the years, that I was expecting a good bit of resistance. At any rate, it seemed like the next natural step in the progression of where we're headed in the class this semester, so I decided to plow through, and I'm glad I did.

One of the things that I didn't really get to hit on was the idea of the separation that exists between actually having a gift and using it. The test was designed as such that if you felt a need to do something or a desire to do something, that was an indication that you have that particular gift. It made no mention of whether you actually do the thing as an indication that you have the gift.

Here's the thing: I think that's a really good way to think about spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are a lot like many other aspects of the Christian life. They are based in truth, in reality, not in what we perceive or what we do. Think about it like this. You're 100% justified in the sight of God. That is truth. You may not always feel like that, and you certainly may not always act like that, but it's reality nonetheless. Same thing with someone who has the gift of prayer or intercession. That gift is given to you --woven into you, to use Psalm 139 language -- and that's reality. The fact that you feel like you're a person of prayer, or the fact that you actually pray a lot doesn't really change that fact.

Again, so much of the time I want my Christian life to be about me. What I do, what I want, and I can totally discount God's sovereignty in the whole thing. Almost as if my doing makes it true. Wow, what an arrogant person I can be!

P.S. For those of you who would like to take the test we used in Sunday School yesterday, here's the link: http://pastoralcareinc.com/MR/Surveys/SpiritualGifts.html.