Lent
March 3, 2023
Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)
Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him’—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. —1 Corinthians 2:6-12
The gifts of the spirit are described in various scriptures starting perhaps with what we call Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47). Romans 12:6-8 talks about the fact that we each received differing gifts, all important and all necessary to complete the work Jesus started and passed on to us following his resurrection. Today’s scripture tells us that we need to understand the gifts God has bestowed on us.
What I have experienced in many years of church work is that a lot is done by hard-working, well-intended people like me, whose skills in some things are at best average, but the work needed to be done, and so we do the best we can. One of the things we need to work at harder is helping others understand the gifts God has bestowed on them and give them the support they need to use them. We need to be enablers. I am a member of an advocacy group that posts concerns on social media. I can write, but most people are visual, and what is written is best received if it has some artwork with it. Another person in our group does beautiful and very appropriate graphics. So, I write something and send it to her and she surrounds it with art that makes it more meaningful.
Do we understand what our gifts are, and are we investing in using them and making them even better? Are we identifying the things that need to be done, and no one else has volunteered to do them? If so, are we identifying those with the needed skills and encouraging them to give the work a shot?
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gifts of your Spirit; guide us in using them wisely, including supporting others in using their gifts. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.