Christmas is the season of hustle and bustle. Thankfully, the measure of our Christian faith isn’t how many things we can do. In fact, we have no measure at all. Rather, our call is to be faithful with what we’ve been given.
The fourth chapter of Ephesians had significant implications and applications for the early church, ones that remain critical for you and me today.
In verses 1-3, how a Christian faith should pragmatically look like is described. Verses 4-6 are a brief theology in what many call one of the earliest church creeds.
Then in verse seven a statement--a reminder almost--that everyone (all believers) have a gift….
“But the grace was given to each one of us, according to the measure of the king used when he was distributing gifts.” Ephesians 4:7.
What gifts are these? Verse 11...Some to apostles, prophets, pastors/shepherds, teachers, and evangelists.
Verse seven already said you have at least one of these gifts (I believe you have all 5, some merely more prominent than others). Not only do you have one, your gift specifically is critical to the function of a healthy church (v. 12).
Christmas is a time to gift others, which is wonderful in itself. But let’s stop to reflect how we can enter the New Year and go deeper with gifts we already have. The ones that when lived out become real and tangible glimpses of the reason for this season—the gift of hope here and now and to come.
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Rohadi is a bi-vocational pastor in Calgary. His first publication is an adult colouring book called: "Soul Coats: Restoration", available on Amazon.
There is an excellent book called Discover Your God Given Gifts by Don & Katie Fortune that helps you discover which of the motivational gifts mentioned in I Cor 12 you are most prominent in. I found the book life changing and it also helped me in raising my children 'in the way they should go,' meaning I had more insight into their giftings.
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing about this topic, Rohadi, and thanks, Gloria, for mentioning this book, which sounds interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good reminder to keep our focus on gifting others and gifting our church in the way that God has designed. Thank you Rohadi!
ReplyDeletePam M.
So often we get frustrated that this season is so busy and the regular volunteers at church just don't show up to help. But when working in our gifting to serve others and glorify God, the joy of the season cannot be diminished. Thanks for putting it all in perspective.
ReplyDelete