Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Gifts (of the Spirit or service) (11/22/07)
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TITLE: All-Stars | Previous Challenge Entry
By Anna Wilde
11/28/07 -
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Much like the wise men of old proclaimed that Jesus’ star would be seen when the time came of his birth, maybe we, too, are all stars just waiting for the birthing of an opportunity for our giftedness to shine in the world around us. Matthew 2:2-9 We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him….. lo, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, and it came to rest over the place where the child was.
If Jesus said we were God’s children, and there are several references to our ‘adoption’ into His Kingdom (Romans 8:15-16 we have received the spirit of sonship, and it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children then heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ), then it would follow logically that we were given gifts before we even knew Him, and as gifts we were given to be gifts to others.
In Numbers 24 when the prophet Balaam was being asked to curse God’s people, by the enemy of God’s people, he found he could only bless them instead. It was his giftedness as a prophet, and the truth of his prophecy, which also included Jesus, that proved his gift. Numbers 24:17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. It’s not a huge stretch to make the shift from what the Old Testament prophets foretold regarding Jesus, and what the new testaments writers/prophets taught for those of us that came after Jesus.
It’s also not a stretch to see from all that scripture teaches that Jesus loved and adored his Father. How many of us believe in our earthly fathers and their roles in our lives, and the gifts they’ve given us? How many of us remember them during the holidays or their birthdays, and remember what they have sacrificed for their families to survive? It’s not a big of a stretch to imagine that we have not only been endowed from on high with gifts that are irrevocable, and that will sustain us, but sometimes it is hard to remember we are also intended to be gifts to one another.
Just as James 1:17 states “Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” We, too, must recognize our giftedness and manifest it in everyday life. We were intended to shine; that’s what stars do.
I recently saw a church billboard that asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?” After I drove past it, the answer came to me; understand and acknowledge that we are already saved. The work has already been done and until we make that connection we will continue to strive for our salvation, and not what lies beyond salvation. The next step has everything to do with our gifts.
In Hebrews, the writer says that solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil, and though by this time we ought to be teachers, we still need someone to teach us again the first principles of God’s word. (Heb 5:12-14). Who among us lesser lights is worthy to take up the discourse that these prophets/writers of old were able to bring to us, and teach us how to be teachers for ourselves and our families and communities?
There’s probably a good reason why we suffer so much as children to grow up, and continue that suffering into adulthood when our bodies outpace our emotions and our minds on many levels. It’s the suffering that marks us as God’s creation. Nonetheless, we have opportunities to grow up and end some of our sufferings and develop the peace that’s promised to us in our journey.
As gifts from God, we have an opportunity to shine on any given day for ourselves and for one another. We make the difference in other people’s lives, just as much as others can make a difference in ours. So what are we waiting for? Our opportunity has come to shine!
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