SEPTEMBER 24, Ephesians 4:7

Members in a church are all one in Christ. That we learnt yesterday. But are we all the same? No, it does not mean that we are all the same. In school, pupils wear uniform, but they are not the same. They vary in ability in studies, duties and natures. So, there is also no uniform for Christians to wear. We are all very different and God wants it that way as He has made us differently and gives us different spiritual gifts. Each of us has received at least one spiritual gift from Christ to serve Him.

What is important to know is that Christ gives differing gifts to people in order to meet differing needs. Different spiritual gifts are for the working of the church’s good. They work in harmony together to build the church. Nobody must flatter himself or nobody must be jealous of anybody else. We can all do something to help build up the body.

As a young person, you may wonder what gift you have. How can you help build up the body? Read on… After hearing the Word of God, you find your hearts being stirred up, to obey God and to do what He wants you to do. By doing those things you later discover that the Lord has given you other talents. As you exercise those talents, you will enrich other members’ lives and be a blessing to them. Then, your church will be even more blessed, and your life as well. To illustrate this, here is a story. A young person was asked to play the piano in the Sunday School Christmas event. He was shy and not sure if he could do a good job. But he took courage, practiced very hard, and trusted God. It turned out that on that day he played the piano very well and everything went on smoothly. That started him to serving God in this ministry. As months went by, he became more confident and was not shy anymore. As he had overcome his shyness, he started to serve in the teaching ministry of the church. He was not afraid of standing in front of a Sunday School class, teaching Bible truths to little kids. Little did he know that he was to become a Sunday School teacher. He had used his talents given by God to be a blessing to other members in his church. Won’t that be wonderful if you could in the future be that boy who first tried to serve God and was willing to work hard for God’s glory?

Thought: How will you use your spiritual gift to serve God?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me spiritual gifts. Help me to exercise the gift to enrich other people in my church and be a blessing to them. And please help me in serving You, to also give all glory to Your Holy name! This is my prayer, in His name, Amen.