A Row Of Houses
Our house was the exact same plan as our neighbour’s.
Reference: “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” 1 Corinthians 12:11 NIV
Explore: We used to live in a new housing estate where all the houses looked very alike. They all had to conform to the developers specifications so you ended up with rows and rows of brick houses.
In fact, our house was the exact same plan as our neighbour’s. They were both three bedroom houses with two bathrooms and an open plan kitchen and lounge.
From the outside nearly all the houses along our street looked the same, however, when you went inside it was a different story.
The neighbour on the left had everything inside colour coordinated in burgundy and green. The neighbours on the right were both very tall so all their benches and cabinets were raised for people over six feet tall.
We kept our interior fairly basic, whereas the elderly lady three doors down had multiple displays of all the spoons, tea cups and tea towels she had collected over the years.
On the outside they looked the same, however, on the inside they all looked markedly different.
Application: When God created us He gave us all the same basic human design. However, when you look a little deeper you will see we are quite different.
Even if you’re from the same gene pool there will be significant differences between relatives.
This is also true when it comes to spiritual gifts. There may be a handful of spiritual gifts we can have but the way they will be expressed are all quite different.
That’s the great diversity we have in God. There is no limit to the way we can live for Him. As long as we are loving God and bringing others closer to God then we are using our gifts wisely.
Let’s not be bound by a title or a type of gift, but express our God-given gifts to fulfil our call to love God and love others.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for blessing us with gifts that extend with our personality and the wisdom we have learned over the years. May we continue to grow and develop our gifts for You. Amen.
What gifts has God given you?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.