A lot of people see God as Someone, well, hard to see. They say His motives are unclear, His methods contradictory, His will impossible to discern except by a few uniquely-gifted people. The apostle Paul sees the exact opposite, but then, we're talking about a guy who had Jesus -- long since dead, resurrected, and ascended -- stop him dead in his tracks, strike him blind, and ask oh-so-politely why Paul kept hassling Him.
Here's what Paul has to say about the "uniquely-gifted", "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (I Corinthians 12:4-6, emphasis mine)
In I Corinthians 14:1-4, Paul adds, "Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church."
Among Christians, these "unique" gifts should be as common as dirt.
There's gotta be a catch.
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2)
Oh, yeah -- living sacrifice. Total buzzkill!
No living sacrifice, no spiritual gifts. You think I'm kidding? Look at the vast majority of Christians who report to some building on Sundays -- if the praise music is to their liking, then spend the rest of the week pursuing their own interests. If people with spiritual gifts are unique, it's only because people who present their bodies to God as living sacrifices are unique.
Maybe you're willing, but have no idea how to sacrifice yourself in this day and age. How do you do it?
By doing God's will.
Trouble is, we believe that God's will is confined to a thousand or so onionskin pages bound in black Morocco leather. Very true -- with some notable exceptions.
We're supposed to wear clothes in public, but God commanded Isaiah to walk naked and barefoot for three years.
Marriage is not only a profoundly sacred contract, it's designed to be an earthly reflection of the deeply intimate relationship between Christ and the church. Yet, God commanded Hosea to marry and have children by a prostitute.
We're not supposed to have children out of wedlock, yet God commanded Mary, who was only a child herself, that she must conceive a child out of wedlock. Then He commanded Mary's intended, Joseph, to suffer the shame and humiliation of marrying a wife who was already pregnant by someone else.
One of us is in a similar situation.
This woman is dutiful, conscientious, religious. Recently, she accidentally damaged someone's property. Everything in her said, "Do the right thing: Apologize, and offer to pay for the damages." Or, as Jesus puts it, "[W]hatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)
It's what we're commanded to do -- simple, right?
Mindful of another commandment in Haggai 2:8, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts," she took the matter to God in prayer. "Should I offer to pay for the damages?" she asked.
God said no.
Since then, she has endured catcalls, insults, gossip, and various passive-aggressive acts of retaliation. The "person she is" is crying out to smooth over the situation with a check and a few contrite words. The "person she is" struggles furiously against the humiliation of having to take what others dish out. The "person she is" whispers that, at minimum, she should be able to take it with a smile on her face because it's God's will and because, as James writes, we should, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4)
She wants to do the "right thing," but there's only one right thing in this or any situation: God's will.
Why? Why? Why?
The answer, God says, lies in yesterday's key Scripture, Matthew 18:15, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother."
See, the woman she sinned against finds Jesus' commandment in Matthew 18:15 impossible to obey. Her method is to work herself into a towering, barely-concealed rage, mention the situation to the offender in passing, then gossip to the rest of her circle about the offender and get them to join her in flinging insults and doling out thinly-disguised retaliation.
See, the woman she sinned against finds Jesus' commandment in Matthew 18:15 impossible to obey. Her method is to work herself into a towering, barely-concealed rage, mention the situation to the offender in passing, then gossip to the rest of her circle about the offender and get them to join her in flinging insults and doling out thinly-disguised retaliation.
God says He wants her to do it differently, and if that means having someone sin against her so she can practice a loving, Godly, peaceful, and private approach to the problem, then that's what it means.
Ouch!
I think you can feel the pain on both sides. I know it's hard when you don't know their names, can't see their faces, and don't know the specifics, but please pray that God would pour the Holy Spirit out on both these women so that they would each have the strength and humility to proceed in His will. After all, He's building a church: He needs everyone He can get.
In Haggai 2, we read of another church that God planned to build or, more accurately, rebuild. In verse 3, God asks temple officials, "Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?"
No, neither of these women has found a church to attend. When you want it so badly, the lack of spiritual nourishment, a spiritual home, can be devastating, just as it was to Israel.
Yet, "Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land." (Haggai 2:4-6)
When we present our bodies as living sacrifices, God will not only give us the work to do, He'll give us the spiritual gifts we need to do it, and He'll make sure it gets done right.
Here's Bill Monroe, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, and Alison Krauss live at the Opry with "Working On a Building". Embedding for this video has been disabled, so click here to go there.
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