Not Everyone Can Be The Battleship!

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. 

Use them well to serve one another.

1 Peter 4:10

 

Ever tried to make grill a steak without heat?  Every tried to take a roadtrip without fuel?  I remember, as a youngster, finding a bar of Baker's Chocolate in my Gramma's cupboard.  In my mind, I had found the gold at the end of the rainbow! I hid it in my pocket, ran out behind the house with my treasure, I admired the silver wrapping as I slowly pulled it back, and then I bit it.  Let me just say, chocolate without sugar tastes like asphalt smells!  That's when I discovered not all that is chocolate is tasty.

 

In grade school, when we played sports everyone wanted to be the quarterback or the pitcher or bat "clean up."  How well do you think it would have worked out to have 9 pitchers on the mound and no one in the field?  How well do you think we would have played with 11 quarterbacks and no linemen?

 

My point, in case you can't tell, is that every team has to work together in order to be effective!  Everyone must do THEIR part to make the team function properly.  Not everyone can be the star or be the stand-out.  Believe it or not, there's always someone who has to sweep up after every parade.  Believe it or not someone has to write the report.  Believe it or not, someone has to take the Chaplain when he shows up for a ridealong.  Believe it or not, someone has the job of washing the dishes at the restaurant.  There are always things that need to be done that no one wants to do, but they make the team/squad/office work efficiently.

 

Every person has been given gifts and talents.  It's up to us to USE them to help others.    

Yes, You Have A Gift!

I remember your true faith. That faith first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I know you now have that same faith. This is why I remind you to keep using the gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. Now let it grow, as a small flame grows into a fire. 

2 Timothy 1:5-6

 

 Believe it or not, each of us has been gifted in some way.  True, some gifts are more obvious (singing, instrument playing, drawing, painting, and the like), but each of us has been given gifts that we are expected to use.    You see, God put each of us on this Earth on purpose and for a reason, and we have been given gifts and talents that we are to use.

 

I cannot count the number of times I have heard, and said, "I wish I had a talent."  We are fooled when the deceiver whispers in our ears that we have not gifts; that we have no talents; that we have nothing that could help others that would make a difference.  The TRUTH of the matter is that, although some talents and gifts are easily spotted, there are some we may not even consider to be gifts and talents.  

 

For example: 

     *    you have this uncanny ability to remain calm in the most stressful of situations, that's a gift. 

     *     you have compassion for the suffering of others, that's a gift!

     *     you feel comfortable speaking in front of groups, that's a talent.

     *     you have a knack for cooking for the purpose of sharing with others, that's a talent.

     *     you are able to sit quietly and listen while someone else pours out all that is on their mind and heart, that is a gift.

 

We can see the talents and gifts in others, but we often don't recognize them in ourselves.

 

Max Lucado, one of my favorite writers, explained it this way: "God doesn't judge you according to the talents of others. He judges according to yours.  His measuring stick for faithfulness is how faithful you are with your own gifts and talents.  You are NOT responsible for the nature of your gift or talent.  But you ARE responsible for how you use it."

 

How will you use your gifts and talents today?

 

The Paradox Of Weakness and Strength

Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:10 

 

When I was a child, I wanted to be a Superhero.  Superman, Batman, Thor, Green Lantern, Flash....all the awesome names and costumes were taken.  So I set about trying to discover my super power.  The more I looked, the more I came up empty.  

 

I already had my costume (an orange swimsuit and Mom's old picnic blanket).  I already knew that flight was not my super power having jumped off the roof and spending a couple of days in hospital for my efforts.  I knew my super power wasn't speed (given my athletic abilities I have no special skills in that area).  

 

I was beginning to become extremely discouraged and frustrated.  And the more discouraged and frustrated I became, the more my friends and schoolmates wanted to talk with me about their issues and wanted to know what I thought about their situations.  This annoyed me at first because, I was trying to focus my energies on my own issues.

 

Finally, I asked one of my friends why they insisted on talking to me when it was plain that I had something else on my mind.  To my amazement, my friend said, "Because you get it!  You understand. Ain't another you anywhere."  Hmmmmmmm.......

 

Then I began to understand....we ALL are super heroes to someone simply because we are who God made us to be.  We might be that teacher who has the gift of presenting the lessons in such a way that the students get it.  We might be that one person who lights up a room simply because we have the gift of laughter and smiles.  We might be that one person who has ears to listen, wisdom to be quiet, and experiences that can guide.

 

Each one of us, in our weakness, are superheroes when we let God work through the gifts and talents He has given us.  When I am weak, I rely on Him and THEN I am strong!

 

BTW, my Super Hero music is the theme from the Benny Hill Show.