What’s Your Gifting?
God has equipped us all to fill a unique place in His Kingdom. We’re all different people with different interests, dreams, and preferences so it only makes sense that we also all have different gifting too. As 1 Corinthians 12 tells us, God made each part of the body to fill a needed and specific purpose and without one part the rest of the body suffers. I’m sure we can all understand this in theory, if everyone is a hand how would the body walk? If everyone were an eye, how would the body hear? I understand this in its analogy form, but have struggle for a while to fully understand it in the real life sense.
When I was in high school if someone would have asked me what my gifting was I would have shrugged and told them “I have no clue, I talk a lot maybe it’s something with that.” One of my close friends was a beautiful singer and every time she sang in church people would comment on how God gave her that beautiful voice and would use it for His Glory. Once I got into college, I started to realize that I made friends really easily and could usually find something to talk to about with anyone. I started to realize not everyone is as chatty and outgoing as I was, but I’ll admit I didn’t see it as much of a gift. Or really I didn’t feel it was an important one, no one told me like they did my friend that talking all the time could be used for God. I wanted a more noticeable and obvious gift such as singing, playing an instrument, or teaching or something easily noticeable.
Then my sophomore year of college I was working in the outfield at a baseball game with another girl just talking away about our families and our lives. She started to share with me some hard things going on in her life despite us not really knowing each other. Once we were done working and getting ready to go she told me thanks for listening and letting her vent. I didn’t think much of the interaction, but then a few weeks later she came to me again and we talked more. At the end of that exchange she began asking me about God and my faith, and explained that she never really went to church but assumed anyone who did was angry and only wanted to interact with other Christians. I didn’t know what to say, but in that moment I knew my gift mattered. Through just being able to make conversation and get to know someone I opened up God to her like no one else had before.
Even now sometimes I feel like being able to talk to people isn’t the most interesting and exciting gift, and being able to sing would be really cool but I know my gift matters. I can make someone feel comfortable and welcome when maybe they normally wouldn’t, or keep a situation from having an awkward silence we all hate. And I’m not sure what your gifting is either but it’s needed and it matters. If my gifting was music like I’d always wished, that girl at the baseball game may not have seen a loving Christian for even longer. Just because I’m not up on a stage singing or teaching, doesn’t mean my talents don’t matter. There are so man things that go on off of a stage and out of an audience view that change the world for God every day. I remind myself often that if every one could sing, who would talk to the new person who just came in and doesn’t know a soul? I can promise you whatever you are good at, someone else needs you to do it to know Jesus.