Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10 NIV
As we consider today's extract, a few factors bear emphasis:
1. The Human factor: God is an awesome God, yet He has chosen to make Himself known through human beings. As mighty as He is, His power and grace are made manifest in and through people who have submitted to His authority. So, for me, the big question is: Have I submitted to God's authority? Does He have authority over the things I do and how I do them?
2. The Gifting Factor: Every single person on the face of the earth, irrespective of colour, creed, culture or coordination, has been given a unique personality, gift or endowment. God is too awesome a God to produce duplicates of an original product. He broke each mold after making one person, and formed a new mold for every single person. This is why it is sheer foolishness for a person to compare himself with another, or to envy what the other person has. As many as we are on earth, we all have distinct fingerprints. That's how unique each person is, and the reason why it will be foolish to think someone else is more important to God than I am.
3. The Time factor: for all of us who are alive and have been gifted by this God, we do not forever to sort out our allegiance and get to work. The years of our lives have been written down by God, and we need to discover the purpose behind our personality and person, and get at it. We were not promised forever on this side of eternity, and the earlier we free our hearts from unnecessary competition, comparisons and confusion, the earlier we can start to make impact on the lives we have been gifted for.
4. The God/Grace Factor: of course, the connection is actually God Himself. He is the One who made the earth and formed us, amd and placed us in it to improve and impact it. If at anytime you think there is something wrong with the model that you see, you need to go back to the origin and sort it out. If at anytime you think something is not right, it is the one who made it who understands just how to correct it. All I can do is to be faithful in the place where I have been planted, and to pursue the very purpose for which God has called me.
My service is a dispensation of God's grace, because anytime I speak or act, God is to be revealed, so if I am not doing it right, I am doing God a disservice. As a steward, I must remember that I will give an account of my stewardship. God doesn't waste resources. Every life is a manifestation of God's grace, and the variety in each life is proof of God's amazing power. I will do the best I can, in the power of God made available for me, so that God can be made known in and through me. I will do it while it is yet day; the night will surely come soon, when all work shall cease. What's your decision? His time of favour is here.
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