March 30, 2025 - INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE HEART

Abby Cheng 

This past month, we have been learning about spiritual gifts: that each believer is given at least one and that we are all called to use our gifts to build up the church or body of Christ. The wide variety of gifts reflects the natural diversity of the people that make up the church. In order for the church to function and be effective in spreading the gospel to the world, each person must fulfill their God-given role through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Imagine a local church in which there is a heavy concentration of one spiritual gift among its members and a total lack of other gifts at the same time (either because no one is part of the church with that gift or the people that have been blessed are either unaware or unwilling to use their gift). For example, it is definitely not a bad thing to have a church filled with people gifted with faith (trusting God to work beyond human capabilities and insurmountable odds) but if there is no one with the gift of administration (those who enable the body to organize and carry out God-given purposes) then there may be no practical steps taken to achieve the group’s lofty goals. A church filled with knowledgeable teachers can be ineffective if no one uses the gift of wisdom to help people apply what they’re learning and turn it into action. 

By God’s will and wisdom, different people in the church are given different roles and are responsible to fulfill their own duties in order for the church to be effective in carrying out the great commission. I pray that we all realize our unique spiritual gifts and faithfully use them to build up the church, for God’s glory and our good.