Did you know that YOU are important?
YOU are essential.
YOU are needed.
YOU are loved.
YOU are irreplaceable.
. Read those top five lines again.
Read them as many times as you need. You need to begin believing them.
It feels good to feel important doesn't it?
It feels good to feel a part of something bigger than yourself and have a key purpose in it.
But do you believe it??
Do you believe you are an important part to the body of Christ??
Do you believe that without you, the body doesn't function entirely as it should?
It's true. Without you, God's purposes in and through the church are not complete.You are a part of the body of Christ, designed with gifts, talents, desires, dreams, and abilities that were placed in you purposefully by the creator of the universe. How cool, right? God has put you on this earth with a purpose. He has a specific plan for YOU. So without you, the plan is not exactly as it was created to be.
What are your gifts?
What do you feel you have to contribute for God's glory and purpose here on earth?
Maybe you don't know. That is a common theme among many.
When someone is trying to help you discover your gifts and talents, they may ask, "Well, what are you GOOD at?" or "What do you enjoy doing?!"
Silence...
What happens if I truly don't know??
So I dig deep and try to figure out what I have in me to offer the world around me. What am I good at? Do I even have anything to offer? Sure, there are things I enjoy doing. I like reading, I like cooking, I like learning, I like the IDEA of a lot of different things; but that doesn't mean I'm good at them. It doesn't mean that those are things I'm gifted in. So does that mean I don't have any gifts?
Sadly, all too often I feel that is the truth and stand deceived. I spend my time thinking about the things I would like to be good at, or the things I wish I could change about myself... and rarely spend my time focusing on my strengths, seeing them for what they are, and working to make them stronger.
Today as I was reading in 1 Corinthians 12 I felt like this is something that is KEY for us to take in and believe as truth:
"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[a] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues[b]? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
As I read this, I thought about myself, and the people who all too often discount themselves, their gifts and where they fit into the body of Christ. Maybe they feel like a toe, and wish they were a hand that actually DOES things and seems essential to the body's function. "I am not an eye, I am just a toe... and what does a toe even do??" Maybe you feel like you have nothing to offer and don't know where to go with your life.
Maybe you feel like you truly are not good at anything.
Take heart. The Word of God speaks the truth and it says that "YOU ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST AND EACH ONE OF YOU IS A PART OF IT." (vs. 27) So maybe you don't shine in the spotlight and have glorious gifts that allow everyone to see how great you are, but your gifts and who you are, are essential and NEEDED in order for the body of Christ to function as it was created to.
Verse 22 states that the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, (I take that as essential!) You are essential! The body CANNOT function without you and your gifts. The weaker, less glorious parts and gifts are what complete the body as a whole.
And hear this, if you are trying to be someone else, or trying to change yourself, the place where you fit and are needed is missing YOU. It makes a difference when you are not functioning and using the gifts God has given you...Dont compare yourself to those around you, they have also been given specific gifts and their strengths are not yours.
Still feel like you have nothing to offer?
Maybe you still feel like you aren't sure what you are gifted and talented at. Ask God to show you. Seek him. Your gifts will not be the same as the person next to you, and the only way to find out about yourself is to seek the one who created you and knows you best.
Verse 31 says "Now eagerly desire the greater gifts." I'm no Biblical scholar, but I took this and ran with it. For me it meant that if I desire and ask God for specific gifts, he will work in me and develop those gifts. For example: I have a heart and desire to have the gift of hospitality. Unfortunately, hospitality is NOT something that comes naturally to me and it is not easy. I believe that God gave me the desire for hospitality, so I frequently ask him to help me and to develop it in me. He has provided different ways that have challenged me and helped me to learn to slowly develop this gift. It has not been easy; especially since it does not come naturally,but I do believe God has given me this desire and if I want to develop and strengthen it, it will not just suddenly appear in me, it needs to be learned and practiced.
So maybe God has given you a heart for something but you don't feel like you are any good at it, ask him to teach you and develop that in you.
And please don't forget, the behind the scenes, less glamorous jobs, the serving, the loving, the humility, the things that sometimes seem unimportant, useless and unnoticed are the ones that are essential! God sees your heart, he sees your service and every single thing you do for others even when no one else may notice. And also remember, we are not doing things to receive glory or recognition from the people around us... Their praise is not what we should be after... We are serving and honoring the Lord with our gifts, so if he is the only one that ever sees the things you do, that is really all that matters.
You are talented. You are gifted. Who YOU are is important and essential to the body of Christ. Ask God to show you what he has gifted you with. Seek and desire gifts that you believe you have, and ones that you believe God has put on your heart for a reason. Trust God as he works in you and through you to develop and strengthen you according to his plans for your life.
Be blessed, and continue to seek your creator. He loves you and longs to spend time with you. He LOOKS forward to your times together.
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" Psalm 119:105
