Foiled again!!

This is one of those posts where I explore my shortcomings and point fingers at myself. Please enjoy. :-)

For any of you that attend church, have you ever had one of those times where you felt like the sermon was directed at you? Or was written because of you? Don't you love those? (My oldest daughter had this same situation a few weeks ago, it was much more enjoyable when the spiritual finger was pointing at her. For me, anyway.)

Anyway, our minister,Jody, has a wonderful way of bringing up issues that we all struggle with. He is able to hook us in with real life situations. Then, after we are all drawn in, he then is able to turn it around as if it were a mirror and force us all to look honestly at ourselves.

This week, his sermon was "Everyone has a gift." Well, those of you that know me and my husband know that we have always said that we didn't have any gifts. Our families are all very gifted in one way or the other. We laughed and said that the gifts must skip generations because in our opinion, our girls are very gifted. We decided that our gift is that we made good kids. Our church even had an online "test"once that was designed to help you discover your spiritual gifts. My hubby and I both took the test. Both of our results told us that we were "side-kicks" instead of "super-heroes." We were to find others with strong gifts and help them. We, of course, laughed hysterically and used it to prove our point.

Well, this week, our minister kind of shot our theory in the foot. (Thanks, Jody!) He made 3 points:

1) Everybody has a gift given to them specifically by God.

2) All gifts come from God.

3) Our gifts are supposed to be used for the good of others.

He used 6 scriptures to illustrate his point: 1 Corinthians 7:7 (But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that;) 1 Peter 4:10 (Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others;) Romans 12:6 (We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us;) 1 Corinthians 12:7 (Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good;) 1 Corinthians 12:11 (All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines;) and Ephesians 4:7 (But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.)

It was then pointed out that there is a distinct difference between being good at something and being gifted. This is the part that makes it impossible for my hubby and I to continue to use our argument that we have no gifts. We now have to amend it. I guess we now have to say that we have yet to discover our true gifts. I guess we better get to work.

The most difficult part was another thing that Jody pointed out. That by denying or questioning that we have been given gifts is basically questioning God's generosity. Oops. Never realized that. However, when we take credit ourselves for our gifts, we are robbing God of the glory. What a balancing act!

It all almost seems like an oxymoron - you must accept greatness, but accept it humbly. Wow. That really makes my head spin. On one hand, it seems impossible. On the other hand, it seems so simple. I guess that is how the Christian life is. "On paper," it sounds like it is easy, but once you start actually trying to "do" it, that's when it gets difficult. That is where grace comes in. A friend of mine once said it this way after her daughter pointed out something she was doing wrong. She said, "Well, you know, I'm not perfect. I strive to be like Jesus, but I can't. Grace fills in my shortcomings. Thank goodness." I like that. I envision it like we are a colander. Formed perfectly, but full of holes. Usually the holes let the bad stuff drain out and the stuff you want to keep stays in. However, there are a lot of times that some of the good stuff slips out and gets lost. God's grace helps "fill in the holes" so that the good stuff stays in better. Clear as mud??

Now, my husband and I must realize that God distributed gifts to each and every one of us lovingly and intentionally and specifically. Then, we need to do some serious self-examination and see what we can find.

Thank you for reading.

Leave me a note and let me know you were here. Also, let me know how you have discovered your God-given gifts.