Gifts

Gifts

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord” ~1Corinthians 12:4-5

When we think of gifts from God, one of the first things that pop in our heads are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, both the seven gifts and the charism gifts.The gifts are for us and to build up the church and each other. It gives us that extra spiritual push here on earth. This will not be a blog explaining the gifts or the differences between them but about how we interact with these gifts from God. 

      I guess I have to first state that I am a firm believer in the gifts of the Holy Spirit both the seven gifts ( Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Fear of the Lord and Wisdom) and the charism gifts ( Prophecy, Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge and Discernment of Spirits). I do feel that there is the need for these in the church and in our own personal lives. Within these gifts lies the most basic of things from God, and that is His love for us and for His church. God wants us to grow both in faith and in knowledge. The gifts are one way we can do that. 

     I want to focus on the beginning steps of the gifts and not the spiritual elements of these gifts in this blog. It is how we deal and accept the gifts that state how and if those spiritual elements will come into our lives and with that the church. 

      When we receive a gift for our birthdays, christmas, etc.. we first read the card and see who it is from. The words are important in a card. It states why the gift is being given. Yes, for the most part you know why because it is about you. You are the reason for the gift. It is a special occasion, a time to rejoice, or a time to honor. When we receive gifts from God, He does the same. It is for you and He does want you to feel you are special to Him and His love for you is in that gift. Whatever that may be. Scripture is His card to express how He feels about you. He will say what it is for and how you are to use it. God does not just wait till the holidays to give us gifts. 

       The second part of the gift after the card is the gift itself. We unwrap it and we see what we received. Think if you gave someone a gift and each time you were at their home you saw that gift just sitting on the table not opened. How would you feel? You gave that gift to that person for a reason and they just do not seem to care about what is under that wrapping. We do the same when we do not unwrap or open that gift that God gave us. 

     We have to “open the gift”. Opening the gift, comes in two ways. First we have to be open to receive a gift from the start. If we are not open the gift will not be there. Someone can hand you a gift and you can reject it and that is the same here. You can close yourself off from God and the gifts but even if you just have that door to God open a crack, He can use it to give that gift. The second part is to open the gift and see what it is. We do this by prayer and action. Ask and try to feel out what the gift is. It may not be so quick for us to know what we have inside. Again, we can be open to receive the gifts but we decide if and when we open them. God is not going to force you to open them. They can just sit there and gather dust if that is what you want to do or you can open them. 

    Ok, so you decided to open your gifts, now what? Use them. It is that simple. Start using them in your life and see them take shape and see where it takes you. Share that gift you have for yourself, the church, and for those around you. That is the reason why you got the gift, to USE THEM..... Do not be one of the people who receive this great gift and it just sits there collecting dust. You have to decide to use them. God will not make you. It is like people who have these great mixers they do not use and they just sit on the kitchen counter taking up space. What is the point of having that gift then? I guess one can argue, that someday you will need to use it but why wait? 

     I can understand that sometimes these gifts from God can be hard to understand, hard to put into practice and even maybe not something you wanted. There is not this great direct written owners manual that is given for us to read and understand. We can read about the gifts in the bible and get some sense of them but the best way when we do not understand how it works is to call on God. Just like when we can not figure something out about our computers or tv we call that 1 800 number and ask for help. God is willing to help us use the gifts He gives us. We are not left to fend for ourselves. 

      The gifts we receive are to be a blessing and not a curse. They are meant to build us up and not tear us or others down. The gifts are not better then anyone else's. They are not for bragging rights either. God does not give gifts so we can put a spot light on ourselves. Remember these gifts are from God and it is God using us with those gifts for the glory of Him. It is through Him that these gifts are given. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and remember you do not have to wait till Christmas to open your gifts from God.