The Gift

I recently spoke at a women’s conference and was invited to dinner the evening before my presentation. I was unable to attend the first day’s sessions, but a couple of the women excitedly told me they’d been placing all kinds of goodies at my place at the table all day. I wasn’t particularly curious (simply because I was more consumed with my presentation), but they seemed so excited, I couldn’t help but wonder for a moment what was waiting for me.

When I arrived the next morning, I realized they weren’t kidding! Not only did I have piles of papers at my place, I had fresh flowers, candy, and many other goodies. And there was a wrapped gift. It was a small box with a beautiful bow. Now I was curious, but I didn’t want to seem too greedy, so I went about my business of setting up. But several women wanted me to open up my gift! I stood by my seat with several anticipatory faces around me. As I picked up the box, I heard something shake inside of it. Hhm. It was about the size of a specialty candy box. You know the kind? Filled with handmade, delicious, calorie-packed caramels and chocolates? My mouth watered as I thought about a handmade caramel!

Back to reality, I slowly slid off the ribbon and began to open the box, expecting scrumptious pieces of candy. I wanted that candy so badly, at first glance, I thought I saw what I expected…but then realized I was looking at birdseed. Birdseed? Who would play such a cruel joke on me? Are you kidding? (I wonder what my face looked like at that point.) Once I took the lid completely off the box, I noticed something shiny in the box. A watch. A beautiful watch. Much beyond my expectation. A generous gift. My heart melted.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. - 2 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NLT)

We might be surprised when we first hear God has a spiritual gift for us. We might anticipate it, or we might be too preoccupied to consider it. But it intrigues us. We wonder what it is and how we’ll use it. We dream up what we’d most like it to be, and we build our expectation. God peeks over our shoulder in anticipation. He might be more excitement than we are! And when we first open it up, we might be disappointed. It might not be exactly what we expected. And yet, it’s likely better than we could have imagined. Just when you think you have a box of birdseed, you might be surprised to find a watch. What if I had peeked inside and seen the birdseed and been so disappointed that I closed the box, perhaps even throwing it away?

Expect a gift. God is peeking over your shoulder in anticipation.

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. - 2 Corinthians 12: 7,11 (NLT)

Sticky Rain

I walked outside the church building the other day while it was raining, and I stood under the awning, mesmerized. There were few cars in the parking lot, and as the wind blew, it looked as if tiny waves moved across the pavement. I watched as individual drops quickly fell into the mass of puddles and those individual drops instantly rippled and absorbed into the moving water.

I thought of the church. Individuals each coming on their own and then being absorbed into the mass of water, adhering to other raindrops and moving with fluidity together. The wind doesn't blow one raindrop by itself. The combined drops wave together. Shared direction, firm togetherness.

Sounds great in theory. I'm pretty sure the idea of sticking together as believers is even biblical. And while I've caught glimpses of shared vision, purpose, and movement within the church, I've also experienced a lot of room for improvement (which is the nice way to say "we often stink at biblical community!).

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. - Philippians 1:2-3 (NLT)

Alright. So it's definitely biblical. Which is another way of saying "we'd better practice what we say we believe!" What can you do this week to apply Philippians 1:2-3 to your life?

• What are you bitter or discontent about? Worship music? Church leadership? Children's programing? How are your dealing with your discontentedness? Speak the truth in love. Confront when necessary. But also realize sometimes you'll be unhappy with something because it's just not your style or it's inconvenient for you. When you take a close look, you may find nothing biblically wrong with what's going on, and if that's the case, you may just need to change your own attitude!
• Are you involved, or are you waiting for someone to invite you to be involved? Take intitiative. Explore different areas of service. If you've served in the same area for years, and you find yourself dreading meetings or ministry, maybe it's time to move to another ministry. Talk with people, gather information, and take a step.
• Humility. According to Mirriam-Webster, humble means "not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive." It's thinking of yourself less...not thinking of yourself as less but just less. When you're feeling sorry for yourself or unappreciated, or you're just having one of those days when you don't seem to be able to focus on anything except your own challenges (even coffee isn't jumpstarting you!), SERVE someone. Get your mind on someone else. It does the trick for me every time!

The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. - Isaiah 55:10 (NLT).