Bring Your Gifts

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

This is the text from the mid-week Lent worship service.  It’s a passage that has been meaningful to me in many ways throughout my life.  I think back to when I was in college and worked as a camp counselor in Northwest Montana at a bible camp.  This is one of the texts we used with campers each week.  The more time we spent with the text, the more it became clear that the camp staff was hired with this model in mind. Our camp staff included quiet thinkers, loud and funny extraverts, and everyone in between.  We would spend our days coming up with bible studies, skits, and songs for campers of all ages from around the country.   As the summer wore on, we definitely rubbed off on one another.  And why was this important?  There was always someone on the staff who could find a unique way to bring the gospel to a camper.  We did this through games, stories, building things, hiking, talking, singing, listening, and sometimes just being quiet.  There was no such thing as the perfect counselor for all campers, but a lot of amazing things took place when we all worked together as a group.

As your Lenten journey continues, I hope you are able to appreciate the many gifts that you are surrounded by at home, work, and in your community.  Most of all, I hope you freely share your gifts with others and you find yourself building up the body of Christ in your own unique and wonderful ways. 

Let us pray,

Dear God, thank you for the many gifts that you give us.  Help us to use these gifts to build up the body of Christ each and every day.  Help us celebrate the gifts of others in our lives and in the world around us.  In Your name we pray, Amen.