Each one, as a good manager of God's different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God. 1 Peter 4:10 GNB
The Context:
Peter here would know what he is talking about here. Here was an experienced fisherman, a family man who did not like to rock the boat. He did all that was required of him quietly, offering his boat without question to a man who wanted to preach out of it. Even when the strange man told him, the expert in fishing, how to do his job he trusted the man enough to overlook the doubt and obey. The catch of fish was itself a testimony. This same skill was the foundation of the gifting of God upon the life of Peter.
What is that thing in your hand that you think is useless? What is that part of your make up that you think is an aberration, or you are ashamed about? Your understanding and acceptance of who you are, and the possibilities of God's grace upon your life will open up doors that you do not know about. Everything about me, even the parts I hide away, have a part to play in God's divine plan for my life. Today's extract is a reminder of those possibilities.
The Message and Response:
We all have received a gift. Even Judas Iscariot, who was called the son of perdition, had a gift. The devil, in the days before the creation story of Genesis, was made for music and worship of the Most High. For man, the grace of God makes it impossible for him to create a life without a purpose or direction. God gives gifts to ALL who he has created, but he will also not put them to use without my consent. He does not force his will on anyone. He cannot force out of me that which he has put in me, without my submitting to his control, influence and direction.
No wonder I am charged to be a good manager of the gifts I have been given. A manager does not own that which s/he manages, but s/he must account for that which s/he has been given to manage. It is this need for accountability that should make me humble; a man does not boast of that which is not of his own making.
And there are good managers and bad ones. The gifting is never in doubt; it is the use that will define my earthly impact and my eternal reality. When the manager is good, s/he is bound to produce in line with that good. That is why a good manager uses the gift for the good of other people. The good God, giving good gifts to good people, who will then use the good gifts to do good in the lives of other people.
Forget trying to impress people; whether I show off, or pretend to care, what God has deposited in me will be revealed. There are those who do not know or acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, yet they are the most gifted people around. Don't mistake activity for divine impact. Men may stand up and applaud you, but is God also applauding and approving of your actions?
Emphasis must be placed on 'God's different gifts' because God is too awesome to be monotonous. He can't give all 6 billion people on earth the same gift. Where will the variety come from? If there was only one way of doing anything, how does God's awesome power shine through? Even before we consider the gifts we all have, we have individual fingerprints, with none the same as any other person on the face of the planet. Even those who are dead do not have their fingerprints repeated, yet God in his awesome power placed unique identifiers in our DNA so that even though we are different, we share the same humanity. That should make me pause and consider the weight of the responsibility my being alive comes with.
I was placed here on earth to stand up, stand out and shine out. My walk with God is personal and private but the evidence of that private walk must be publicly seen by all I relate with. Am I making an impact? Is the hand of God evident upon my life? Can I say with all boldness that I am a good manager of all that the good Lord has given me to manage, and to bless his good people with? I must remember that a day of account is coming. Nothing can change that fact, but I can prepare adequately for that day. His time of favour is here.
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