Devotional THought of the Day:

 ¹⁰  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

⁴  There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit. ⁵  There are different ways to serve the same Lord, ⁶  and we can each do different things. Yet the same God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (CEV) 

422         If the Lord has given you some natural quality or skill, you should not just enjoy it yourself or show off about it; you should use it charitably in the service of your neighbour. And what better occasion than now will you find to serve, since you live with so many souls who share the same ideal as yourself?

Yesterday I wrote about our need as believers to grow, and the responsibility of the church, (and by this I mean not the institution, but all the peope of God) to encourage and develop each other.

But that is… a little misleading.  For while we work together, while we encourage each other, while we occaisonally confront each other, it isn’t our work.  It isn’t our strenth, our skills, we don’t get to take credit for it.

It is His work, we are, together, collectively, His masterpeice, His poetry, THat’s where the word poetry comes from  – poeima – His work, His masterpiece, the very work of God.  That is who we are, not passive people, but people working with our Father in His business – in recreating this world, taking that which is broken and battered by sin and the world, and bringing His healing, His love, his reconciliation, that’s our work.

Whereever God takes us, whether it’s working in the drive through at McDonald’s or managing a department of a univerity  Whether it’s being the low man on the totem pole or being the President. It’s His placement, When we talk about HIs gifts, and the fact that He gives gifts to us, but it is not a gift to us… the gift is us to each other. We are His creation, His masterpice, but we are given to Him , and too each other.

That’s a challenge, because as gifts, we must do things, we work together, with the gifts we have become, strengthening each other, loving each other, serving each other.  That’s who we are. Not passive, not employed at at other thing… but to serve God by serving each other.

That’s what we are abot – that’s why we have gifts..

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Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1889-1892). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.

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