But God Gifts Where He Will- Lent 27, 2021

I’m not a fan of coerced unity.  We hear it all the time from politicians…unity, unity, unity…but on political terms.  You give up your principles and agree with me and then we will have unity.  Heads, I win.  Tails, you lose.  Anything to confuse you or distract you, so you won’t think about what it really means: subjugation by capitulation to someone else’s whims. 

If God prepares and preserves where He calls, part of that preparation is in the way He gifts each one of us.  We are different. We think differently and apply ourselves differently. But in Christ, we can get along. As we live between the City of Man and the City of God, we can experience His peace and be productive followers of Christ as we’ve noted in “But God…” our 2021 Lent Devotional series.

How can we have this peace and productivity?
By agreeing with His choice to gift us and His choice of where to employ us. 
And moreover, His choice NOT to gift us in certain ways
or His choice to deny our use in an area for which we were never gifted. 
It’s tough for Christians to swallow sometimes. 
Even harder for those who don’t know Christ.

I Corinthians 12:20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

No one is a Do-It-All-Christian.  We must depend on each other. 

Father God, thank You for Your great wisdom. You have chosen to gift the Body called the Church in the way that You know will lead to the best outcome. We praise You and thank You for the giftedness in our brothers and sisters in Christ. We thank You that there is no favoritism with You and that in Your perfect knowledge, the gifts are ours to be peace-filled and productive. To yield much fruit. And all of this, Lord Jesus, for Your glory. Amen.

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Categories Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals | Tags: | Posted on March 19, 2021

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