How do you uncover your religious presents?

For a few years, I didn’t give religious presents a lot thought. After all, I didn’t reject the concept of the Holy Spirit equipping and empowering believers particularly methods. I simply tended to strategy the topic extra abstractly.

As a brand new Christian, I used to be overwhelmed by persona test-style assessments. (I nonetheless am, to be trustworthy.) Really, that’s not solely true. I noticed that the assessments have been fairly straightforward to govern into giving a desired reply.¹ And folks put means an excessive amount of inventory in these assessments, typically defining themselves by the outcomes. So I simply didn’t trouble with them. As an alternative, I centered on doing what made essentially the most sense or felt compelled to do in a given state of affairs.

(Which isn’t a wholly unhealthy strategy.)

Then religious presents got here up in a course I not too long ago took as a part of my seminary program. This brought on me to start out fascinated about these presents extra fastidiously. Particularly, what religious presents are and the right way to determine them. And I’m glad I did.

What are religious presents?

So how will we outline what religious presents are?

First, religious presents are manifestations or expressions of God’s grace. They don’t seem to be our pure abilities or talents, though even these are good presents from God (James 1:17). Each reward, irrespective of how seen or seemingly secret, is supernaturally given and empowered by the Holy Spirit, for use for God’s glory.

Second, there doesn’t look like an exhaustive checklist of religious presents within the Bible. We have now a number of lists present in Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30, Ephesians 4:11, and 1 Peter 4:11. These lists embrace:

What we are able to take away from the inclusion of a number of lists is that these are consultant of the methods wherein the Spirit empowers us, however might not be exhaustive. The Holy Spirit can and can do no matter he needs as he goes the place he wills (John 3:8). He equips us for the duties which might be at hand, permitting us to serve in the way in which that finest serves the entire church. Which brings me to the third level.

Third, religious presents are given for the mutual encouragement and progress of all believers. No matter presents we now have don’t exist solely for our profit. They’re for the neighborhood—to construct us all up within the religion (Romans 1:11-12). And that objective stays the identical, whether or not these presents are extremely seen or extra behind the scenes. Once we specific our presents, we’re each inspired.

How do you uncover your presents?

This considering ought to change how we discern our religious presents. If they’re expressions of God’s grace meant to mutually encourage each other, then discovering our presents occurs within the context of neighborhood. The church helps us uncover how the Spirit is equipping us to like, edify, and encourage each other. However that doesn’t imply there isn’t a private expertise to contemplate. We’re a part of the “each other,” in any case. Our presents ought to construct us up as nicely.

It’s not an either-or; it’s a both-and. And this takes us again to the query: How do we all know what our presents are? One of the best ways to reply this? By asking two extra questions:³

1. What’s it that I do inside my church that encourages me and builds up my love for Christ?
2. What’s it that I do inside my church that builds up these round me and helps them love Jesus extra?

How did these questions assist me perceive my presents?

How did I reply these questions? Nicely, reflecting on them allowed me to see my very own religious presents extra clearly, particularly as they relate to writing and instructing.

For me, it’s all the course of, from starting to finish, that encourages me in my religion. (It additionally bodily exhausts me as a result of it’s arduous work.) There’s one thing distinctive in regards to the time I spend in Scripture at any time when I’m making ready a message for Sunday or diving right into a topic for a e book or article. Whereas the Phrase is all the time dwelling and lively (Hebrews 4:12), it’s as if it comes alive in a particular means throughout these occasions.

Preparation is an act of worship. And the identical is true when I’m truly preaching. Talking in entrance of a bunch of individuals of any dimension doesn’t come naturally to me. Shows are a wrestle. However one thing occurs once I’m preaching on a Sunday; I’m trusting the Lord to work in and thru me for the advantage of my church—his church.

And it appears to be bearing fruit, encouraging the individuals of my church as they worship. One good friend informed me that over the past a number of years, he’s seen a shift in my preaching. I used to be all the time good at delivering the meat of the textual content, he stated. However the change that he felt was a way of being shepherded. Others have stated the identical—they really feel cared for. Liked. And inspired to like and comply with Jesus to a larger diploma.

The place to discern and embrace your religious presents

Understanding your religious presents is each simpler and more difficult than you would possibly suppose. Discovering your presents doesn’t come via a persona check. You don’t want a listing or evaluation.

Discovering our presents requires a neighborhood—a church—the place you might be liked and secure to be susceptible, the place the gospel is on the middle of its tradition within the truest sense, the place we now have the flexibility to fail, the place individuals will inform us the reality, and the place individuals will nurture what they see God doing in us. To embrace our presents, we’d like the church as nicely. Our presents don’t exist for our personal profit. They’re meant to mutually encourage each other, to level each other to the love and goodness of God.

And greater than gaining perception into how the Spirit has gifted you, that’s what I pray you’ll take away from the reflection questions above. That you’ve got a neighborhood the place you’ll be able to specific your presents in all of the methods you’re meant to. We can not actually specific our presents alone. We want each other.

Picture by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash