July 23, 2018
Now to each one the
manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 1Cor 12:7
The first step in
discovering what gifts God has blessed us with is a desire to serve the Body of
Christ.
Have you ever taken one of those career aptitude tests given
to high schoolers? They can be so
disappointing.
I took a Career Aptitude Test MANY years ago, hoping it
would show I was skilled to be a doctor or scientific engineer. Instead, my ratings in those areas were
mediocre, but what the test identified as my aptitudes was teaching and sales. UGH! Standing
in front of people was one of my greatest fears, and my opinions about
salespeople were not very positive! Sadly,
I continued to pursue my passion for computers, and started a very productive career
as a computer systems developer.
Years later, the church we were attending started involving
me in teaching roles – and the path I dreaded started becoming a regular part
of my life. About that time, my career
changed from back-room technical activities into pre-sales, design, management
& educational leadership. When I
finally gave up fighting it, and embraced them as opportunities, God sent my
career AND my spiritual life a huge leap forward.
What’s the lesson from that?
It was when I embraced those gifts for God’s Kingdom, that I discovered
their value and importance in both the Church and the career!
I would venture to say most people take a similar path –
trying to pursue their own passions and visions for a career BEFORE discovering
and appreciating what God has gifted them to do. Paul was trying to play Pharisee Enforcer
before he finally discovered the gift of leadership and church planting God had
equipped him with. Peter pursued a
fishing career before discovering God’s gifting of evangelism and
preaching. Matthew preferred a career in
finance until God showed him the gifts he had as a writer. Imagine what great gifts are at your
disposal, if you only would put them to effective work for God!
The secret is to discover them in the Body of Christ! Start by desiring to be a part of His body
(the Church), and find your gifts by serving the Body. When you discover what those gifts are, turn
and start using them in your career as well.
You’ll not only minister and support God’s work on earth in saving
people for eternity, you might just discover a career that fits well with who
you were designed to be.
The first step in discovering your gifts is wanting to serve
the Church Jesus died for.
No comments:
Post a Comment