Recently, I learned some pretty important things. One of those being about spiritual gifts, my spiritual gifts.
What are spiritual gifts?
Our spiritual gifts are given to us, by God, the moment we are saved. The whole point of them is to fulfill what he has called us to do, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV).
There are different types and each one has a purpose. A teacher teaches, a shepherd oversees, trains, and coaches others, an exhorter motivates others to take action and apply what they know and seek their purpose. The list goes on and on.
In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 it says, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 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. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills" (ESV).
Discovering these gifts that God has granted us is truly important. How can we make an impact without knowing how we effectively reach and connect with people? When we desire to change people's lives, we'll desire to know what our gifts are and how to effectively use them (1 Corinthians 12:31).
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Recently, I took the spiritual gifts test. You can take it just about anywhere online, but I took the good ole fashioned, pen and paper version. It's 80 questions, with a little math involved at the end, but it doesn't take long at all. I discovered a few things that I knew and didn't know.
My top scorers were:
Administration - Organizing, Administering, Promoting, and Leading in the church or church group.
Service/Help - Providing practical help both physically and spiritually
Mercy - Identifying with and comforting those in need
The first two weren't that surprising. I may be an introvert, but I do like to take charge sometimes. People have always told me I am a leader. I like to be organized, at least most of the time too. I have, also, always liked helping others when I can. The mercy one kind of threw me for a loop though. Don't get me wrong, I get the description. I like helping people when they're in need, but I'm usually not one to pry into people's business (unless they just tell me). Honestly, I'm awkward when it comes to comforting people. If someone starts crying, I usually don't know what to do. Sometimes if it's me and a couple others and someone starts crying, I'll even walk away.
Now that I've seen them, read about them, and read what God had to say about my gifts. I know they're an important part of me. An important part of the plan for my life and what I'm called to do. We are all important parts when it comes to being apart of the Body of Christ. It says in Romans 12:4-8, "For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness" (ESV). I need to take these gifts and use them. I need to take my weaker gifts and expand upon them and so should you.
Now obviously given some time, just like any other test, my results may vary. The stage of life I'm in right now may be why I have those particular gifts. Later on down the line, when I'm graduated and have a family of my own they'll probably be a bit different and that's okay. If your continually growing in your relationship with Christ, that'll happen.
I encourage you to discover your gifts. Take the test. Take the test with friends and compare results, it's not a secret. Go and improve upon them. Take your high scores and take action with them. Take your low scores and learn more, practice them. The ultimate goal is to be able to impact people's lives with the Gospel.
