Gifts…To Give Or Not To Use
March 9, 2022·Cecilia Gomez
I don’t know about you, but I love to receive gifts. I am so touched by the simple fact that the giver thought about me in such a loving way. What I love even more than receiving gifts, is giving them! I love, love, love to give gifts. Now, if I love giving gifts, how much more does our God love to give us gifts.
I remember in 2020, I was in the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant, I drove up to the window to pay for my order, and to my surprise, the car in front of me had already paid for my order. I was so impacted by their kindness, that I did the very same thing and paid for the car behind me! I then heard on the news that week, that folks were doing this all over the country. In Minnesota, there were more than 900 cars who paid it forward on one single day. How incredible is that?!
Romans 12:6 says:
“We all have different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us. The person who has the gift of prophecy, should use that gift in agreement with their faith. Anyone who has the gift of serving, should serve. Anyone who has the gift of teaching, should teach. Whoever has the gift of encouraging, should encourage. Whoever has the gift of giving to others, should give freely. Anyone who has the gift of being a leader, should try hard when he leads. Whoever has the gift of showing mercy to others, should do so with joy.”
Paul tells us that we ALL have different gifts. Yes, he doesn’t say that some of us have gifts, he says we ALL have gifts. Now, some of you are probably thinking you don’t have any giftings. You don’t believe yourself to be good at anything. Well, my friend, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In the first sentence, Paul reveals the first gift! What is it you ask? GRACE! God gave us the gift of grace through His Son, Jesus.
Paul then proceeds to list the gifts God has given us according to His Grace! Now these aren’t any old gifts! These are very special gifts. Listen closely, to see which of these God gave you.
- The Gift of Prophesy
- The Gift of Serving
- The Gift of Teaching
- The Gift of Encouragement
- The Gift of Giving
- The Gift of Leading
- The Gift of Showing Mercy to Others
Paul doesn’t only list them for us, he tells us what to do with them. Use them, that’s right! We have to use them.
Now, there’s a reason why Paul tells us to use them. God doesn’t want us to hide our gifts… they were given to us with the intention to share them with others. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace.”
What are your gifts and talents? Have you been using them to their fullest potential? If you’re not sure what your gifts are, ask the Lord to show you what gift He has deposited in your life. The world needs your gifts!
If you already know, and you’ve left it wrapped and untouched, then I encourage you to dust that gift off and use it. There are so many people out there waiting for you to share your gift. I assure you that sharing your gift with others, as God intended, will have a life-changing impact in someone’s heart.
Pastor Cecilia Gomez
