Think You’re God’s Gift to the Church?

A few years ago, a friend showed up to our costume party wearing a huge box wrapped like a gift. His oversized gift tag read, "From: God To: Women". It's still one of my favorite costumes. Saying a guy "thinks he's God's gift to women" smacks him for his conceit. The funny thing is that, if he's a believer, he IS God's gift to women…and men, and children who make up the Church.

A few years ago, a friend showed up to our costume party wearing a huge box wrapped like a gift. His oversized gift tag read, "From: God To: Women". It's still one of my favorite costumes. Saying a guy "thinks he's God's gift to women" smacks him for his conceit. The funny thing is that, if he's a believer, he IS God's gift to women…and men, and children who make up the Church.

In Ephesians 4, Paul explains: Christ gave gifts to the Church for the building up of the Church. He "gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God – a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ’s full stature." (Eph 4:11-13).

In today's culture, we often outsource the work of ministry to the professionals and the super-spiritual. The "everyday" people in the pews come to church, but defer to the elite. They don't recognize that they're God's gift to the Church, and end up, as a friend recently put it, like a Christmas present lost behind the tree until January: purchase, wrapped, ready to be opened, but not opened and received.

You may not be acting like you're God's gift to the Church. While it may be because you're apathetic, or lazy, or selfish, that's probably not the reason. Maybe you didn't know that Christ gave a gift to the Body when He gave them you. Perhaps you're giving all you can muster to other areas in your life, and need to create some margin for Christ's mission for you. Or perhaps you think that you have nothing to offer. Maybe you don't know your gifts, or how God uses you.

Or maybe you DO know you're God's gift to the Church, but don't realize that everyone else is, as well. The old 80/20 rule (80% of the work is done by 20% of the people) is often as much about the 20% loving to be on the inside as it is about the rest who are satisfied with being spectators. If the few fill all the positions, there's no room for the many–my over participation may be preventing God's gift from functioning in the role He meant for them.

It may be time to look for those who aren't functioning as God's gift, so you can invited them to partner with you. Perhaps you need to let go of control or prestige or "the way we've always done it". Maybe it's time to let "Those Who are Ministered To" minister back. It's definitely time to stop thinking only about human competence, education and experience, and recognize that the gifts are from God, and we're missing part of his grace to us without them.

Together, we'll all grown in strength of faith and unity in the knowledge of Christ, through God's gifts to the Church.