Christ's Gift, the Church Body

Have you ever received a gift that made your life better or easier?  I am always looking for ways to make cleaning my home easier, one of the things I neglect is the inside of my microwave.  I barely ever use it and so it never becomes part of my normal cleaning routine.  When I do get around to cleaning it, it’s in pretty bad shape.  So, last year my family got me this silly gift called “The Angry Mama” as a joke… 

The purpose of this item is to make cleaning the microwave easier by filling it with water and vinegar and letting the steam break up the gunk inside your microwave.  I love this thing!  It is in my top 5 best gifts of all time.  Even though my family’s intention was to make me laugh, they gave me a tool that made my life so much easier. 

Christ also gave us so many gifts, but one of his greatest gifts to us is the gift of each other in the church body.  God gave each of us our own gifts that can be used to build up the church and each other.  Some of us were given the gift of leadership, some the gift of compassion, some the gift of knowledge and teaching, and others the gift of sharing Gods word.  When the members of a church body all use the gifts that God has given us, it makes it so much easier and better for all of us.

The church needs people with a variety of gifts to continue making disciples and to continue Christ’s message to the world.  In Ephesians 4, Paul states “these are the gifts that Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.  This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord.”  The gifts that each of us have continue to build up God’s church and as we continue to build up the church, our faith in God and our unity will grow. 

Paul goes on to say, “He (Christ) makes the whole body fit together perfectly.  As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”  In Ekidz, it is very clear that many of us have been gifted with the gift of love and compassion for children.  This is a very special gift.  We are helping the other parts of our church to continue to grow, and like Paul said, “So that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”  Christ makes every part fit together perfectly, and Ekidz is a very important piece not only for our church but also for the future of the children we serve.

Are you using the gifts that God has given you to build up his church?  Are you building up His body so that faith and unity will grow?  Every person from Jr. Helper to Pastor has a gift that God wants to use to continue to build up His church. So don’t be afraid, because your gifts are what keep the whole body healthy, growing and full of love.        

If you want to know more about the gifts that you have take a free spiritual gifts test here.