Abundant Gifts

I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way.

1 Corinthians 1:4-5

God has given gifts to each of us, gifts to be used to enrich others. These gifts are from the Spirit of God, and they operate through his power. Each of us was designed in every aspect of our makeup to contain and express the gifts that the Spirit imparts to us. Our personalities, our bents, our talents, our experiences—everything about us is shaped to contain our gifts.

When we are operating in the gifts that we have received from the Spirit, we are at our most productive. We are happiest and most fulfilled. We experience the power of God directly when we are exercising our spiritual gifts. Seeing the Spirit work through the gifts he has given us produces a profound humility and boundless joy. At that moment, we know ourselves to be vessels through which the Spirit is expressing himself. We know what our lives are for.

Acting and living in harmony with our gifts bring us into the abundant life Jesus has for us. Our gifts are for giving. We will never find that abundance and overflowing joy until we start giving away our gifts.

I have a dear friend who dealt with bouts of depression as long as I had known her, until she discovered her great capacity for showing mercy. She started working with a prison Bible study and mentoring program. She had never realized the depth of misery in the lives of other human beings. The kinds of experiences she learned about in mentoring inmates were eye opening to her. She had a knack—a gift—for zeroing in on the very place where a soul was deeply wounded and then offering words and acts of encouragement and mercy. Now my friend seems to have a vitality and purpose that has transformed her. She still has some struggles with depression, but they are fewer, and she has a reason to move through those times: her “girls” need her.

Father, let your gifts flow through me to those around me. Let me be reflective of your generosity and your selfless love.

That we are alive today is proof positive that God has something for us to do today.

Vachel Lindsay(1879–1931), American poet