Last Sunday was the culmination service of Children’s Week at ECWA Seminary Church, Jos. During the service, I paid rapt attention to Pastor Emmanuel Bawa, the children pastor, as he spoke concerning building up the body of Christ. It was a well presented sermon on spiritual gifts of Christians.
A striking statement he made was that no Christian needs to feel left out when it comes to possessing a spiritual gift. Then the thought came to me again fresh: nobody is unimportant then! Let’s imagine how great the experience would be when all Christians put their gifts into use. Truly this is the only way the body of Christ can be built up and edified.
However, some Christians do not know the spiritual gifts which they possess. Here are questions to help you in the discovery: since you received Christ, in what area would you say you have a grace to operate as in tendencies and dispositions? Do you always see a material need in the people that come into contact with you? If yes, then that is a disposition that points to the gift of giving (Romans 12:8).
Also, do you find yourself outspoken and courageous enough to right a wrong irrespective of what is at stake, or maybe being passionately concerned about the sufferings of others? If yes, then this disposition points you to the gift of leadership (Romans 12:8). Just like the gifts of giving and leading, you can know that you possess the gift of teaching, if you find teaching come easy to you. By prayerfully tracking your dispositions, you’d be able to identify the spiritual gift you possess.
Let’s have a look at Moses who possessed certain dispositions of leadership much before he was commissioned foe leadership. In Exodus 2:11-12, we see that he could not refrain from intervening when he saw a fellow Hebrew being beaten up by an Egyptian; he felt bad and went on to kill the Egyptian.
Just the next day he saw two Hebrew men fighting, and again, he intervened asking, “Why are you beating up your friend? (vv.13 NLT). When he realized that his earlier action was no longer a secret, the anticipatory response from the Pharaoh now made him escape to Midian where he stayed as a fugitive.
Again, while sitting by a well in a sorry state at Midian, he could not help jumping up to rescue the daughters of Reuel from the hands of bullies (Exodus 2:17). These actions simply point to Moses’ gift of leadership. Little wonder, years ahead the great burden to free a nation of slaves from oppression was borne by him, and he was famed as an outstanding leader in Israel’s history
It is important that Christians know their areas of gifting, because we are all made to be unique, and not to be somebody else. What distinguishes a person is the extent to which he has utilized or exercised his gifts. When Jesus taught about humility in the Gospel of Luke 14, he said, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then humiliated, you will have to take the least important place” (Luke 14:8-9 NIV).
From this scripture, do we say that being distinguished implies that one person is more important than another? ...NO. All gifts have the same level of importance; therefore, a person possessing one gift is not more important than the person possessing another. However, through exercise and constant use of gifts, one may become more distinguished than another. But even more better than our being distinguished is the fact that the body of Christ will be edified to the glory of God, when we all use our spiritual gifts.
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