It seems like several things are happening simultaneously, Father, but Your hand is in it, so things are coming together well. Thank You for Your intervention.
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (<<click here to read the passage)
I don’t remember exactly but I’m pretty sure that I got my first Lego set when I was around 8 or 9 years old. At that point, the early 1970s, Legos were one of the most loved and best-selling toys among US children. When it was all said and done, I had a pretty nice collection of them.
Twenty-five or so years later, Massey developed a love for them, starting with my collection. It was – and for that matter still is – a go-to gift for him. Modern Lego sets are a bit more refined than what I started out with – basic bricks and wheels and other simple components. Now they are very elaborate collections, some containing thousands of pieces.
The NASA Space Shuttle Discovery replica pictured above? It is a 2,354-piece project. That’s a lot of pieces! And if one happens to go missing, it’s not complete. You don’t even see many of the pieces, but they are all an integral part of the whole.
If you haven’t already done so, please take a moment and read through the six verses of today’s passage. When you do, think of the “gifts” mentioned as parts of the whole…
We are all integral parts of the whole. We all have God-given gifts – absolutely no one is excluded from the Holy Spirit’s distribution. We may not acknowledge our gift, we may not even know that it exists. If that is the case, it is more than likely we just don’t understand it in that context.
For example, maybe you have the gift of mercy: This is the defining trait of a person with great sensitivity for those who are suffering. It manifests itself in offering compassion and encouragement, and in a love for giving practical help to someone in need.
Don’t we all know compassionate people who have this innate desire to bring others comfort?
That’s just one “gift” from the Bible that Tyndale House Publishers compiled into A Quick List of Biblical Spiritual Gifts: Which Gifts Exist and What They Mean. (Click on this title to read through them.)
Each one of us factors into the whole. We are a part that completes the whole – the body of Christ.
I love the statement the Apostle Paul makes at the end of this passage!
God is faithful [He is reliable, trustworthy and ever true to His promise—He can be depended on], and through Him you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. v9 AMP
God is faithful. He will not give up on us – for truly each of us is an integral part of the whole…His body – the Church! Amen and amen!
Sept 19th, 2023, Tues, 5:54 pm
