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Our Spiritual Gifts Lead Us Toward Spiritual Maturity

1 Corinthians 12: 4-7 “Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.” (NLT)

Do you know how God has gifted you…uniquely?

One of our most interesting, exciting and empowering aspects of our Christian faith should be the discovery and employment of our God-given spiritual giftedness to participate in building God’s kingdom; to help us understand more clearly why we think the way we think and behave the way we behave. This knowledge can assist and empower us in our everyday lives at work, at home and in the church of Jesus Christ. But most importantly by far, is Paul’s statement, as he teaches us in vs. 7: “A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.”

Taking the initiative to develop our understanding of our giftedness is an important stepping-stone to our spiritual maturity, helping us to grow beyond being a spiritual child. An important signpost that validates the truth that we are on this growth track is when we find ourselves behaving and doing things that please Jesus, not out of guilt, but out of desire. But once again the core of this teaching lies  in our question for today. Why have we been so blessed, each uniquely with our own unique gifts? Paul answers this in the closing verse above: “…as a means of helping the entire church.” It is because of these eight words that we shift our devotional time today away from ourselves towards the topic of growing in spiritual maturity.

Philip Yancey tells the following story in his book, Reaching for the Invisible God, about Mahatma Ghandi's grandson, Arun Ghandi. While Mahatma Ghandi was a devout Hindu, he respected  and was greatly influenced by the teachings of Jesus, particularly Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Sadly, he rejected conversion to Christianity due to the exclusionary behavior  of Christians, especially in South Africa, where he was denied entrance into a church because he was not white. He is famously known to have said, “I’d be a Christian if it were not for Christians.” 

“Arun Ghandi is the grandson of Mahatma Ghandi and is now a U.S. Resident. He spent his teenage years in South Africa, where his father helped lead the campaign for civil rights started by his grandfather years before. Shortly after Arun had learned to drive, his father asked if he would drive him downtown to a lawyer’s office for a strategy meeting, then take the car in for repair. ‘You can do anything you want as long as you pick me up at 6:00 PM sharp’ he said. 

Like any teenager with a new license, Arun jumped at the chance to drive into the big city. After dropping the car off at a garage, Arun went to a movie theater. The first picture, a Western from America, proved so entertaining that he sat through the double feature, losing all track of time. When he walked out into the fading light, he panicked, wondering if the garage was now closed. He dashed there, found the shop still open, and retrieved the car. Skidding to a halt in front of the lawyer’s office at 6:30, he found his father waiting by the curb. Aware of how his father valued punctuality, Arun spun a story about problems the garage had encountered while repairing the car. ‘We’re lucky they finished it,’ he said. ‘I had to wait almost an hour, which is why I’m late.’ Arun’s father, though, had called the garage at 5:00 to check on the progress and learned then the car was ready. When they got beyond the city limits, he asked Arun to pull to the side of the road. He explained that he had called the garage and that he knew Arun was lying. ‘I am deeply troubled,’ he said. What would cause my son to lie to me? How have I failed as a father that my son would not trust me with the truth? I must reflect on this.’ The father walked the rest of the way home, asking Arun to drive behind him so that the car’s headlights could illuminate the lightly traveled country roads. Because they lived some distance from the city, it took six hours for him to walk, his head down, deep in thought. Arun drove at a snail’s pace behind his father the entire way…

When I heard Arun tell the story, I wondered if he might use it as an example of a ‘guilt trip’; a manipulative way for a father to make his son wallow in regret. He did not see it that way at all. Even in his teens he respected his father as a great leader who modeled integrity and justice…Arun was stricken to the core. More than anything else, he wanted to please his father and to emulate him; the lie pointed out how far he had to grow. ‘After that, said Arun, ‘I never told another lie.’

Who among us does not recall growth moments from our youth? Arun’s experience was a step toward maturity. A step toward Godly wisdom rather than childish motives for obedience. Likewise, desiring to discover, and then desiring to employ our spiritual gift(s) to please our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, “as a means of helping the entire church”, are signs of spiritual maturity. Signs that we are growing in our spiritual lives. Indicators of his sanctifying work in our hearts. Indicators that we are desirous of impacting God’s Kingdom here on earth.

Holy Father, thank you for how you have, through your incredible wisdom, made each of us unique! Instill in us, through the power of your Holy Spirit, the desire to, as Paul states, help build your entire church. Lead us, Lord. Amen! (38.3)