H. Michael Brewer
Crescent Springs Presbyterian
1 February 2004
GRAB YOUR GIFTS
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
I mentioned last week that the Corinthian Christians had a serious competition going, each trying
to outdo the others in spiritual gifts. By spiritual gifts we mean those blessings of the Holy Spirit that
equip us and empower us for God’s service in the church and in the world.
Now in regards to spiritual gifts, the Corinthians made all kinds of mistakes. It was silly, for
instance, to turn a grace into a contest. That’s a little like brothers and sisters arguing about which one
Mom loves the most. And certainly the Corinthian Christians were misguided when they singled out
one gift—speaking in tongues—and elevated that above all the others, making that one gift the
necessary sign of God’s presence.
But in one regard, the Corinthians are to be applauded. At least, they took the spiritual gifts
seriously. They made the gifts of the Holy Spirit an up-front priority in their individual and
congregational life, and rightly so. For a Christian to neglect the gifts of the Holy Spirit is equivalent to
a carpenter arriving on the job without tools, or a squad of firefighters gathering at a house fire
without a single ladder or hose or axe or mask. Picture a team showing up for the Super-Bowl and
playing in street clothes because they forgot their uniforms and helmets and protective gear. As
ridiculous as those examples are, that’s what it’s like when a Christian tries to function without
drawing on the gifts God makes available to us.
During the Super-Bowl a few years ago, FedEx ran a wonderful commercial spoofing the movie
Castaway. In that movie Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down,
stranding him on a desert island for years. The poor castaway struggles every day, just to survive, and
finally puts his life on the line to escape from the island. Throughout his ordeal he hangs on to a FedEx
package that washes ashore with him on the island. He sets it aside, determined that some day he will
deliver this package.
In the commercial a fellow looking like a bedraggled Tom Hanks goes to the door of a suburban
home and rings the bell, package in hand. When a woman answers the door, the FedEx guy explains
that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in
order to deliver it to her. She says, “Thank you,” and starts to close the door. But the castaway is
curious and he says, “Could I ask what was in that package?” The woman opens it and says, “Oh,
nothing really important. Just a compass, a water purifier, some seeds, a global positioning device,
and a satellite telephone.”
It’s a cute commercial, and here’s what it has to do with you and me. Too many Christians live
lives of spiritual poverty because we don’t take hold of the blessings God has placed within our
reach. Paul did not use these words, but his advice in this letter is clear. “Christians, grab your gifts!”
Don’t leave those gifts wrapped up and tucked away for a rainy day. Don’t put them in a little shrine
where they will gather dust. Don’t hide your gifts in embarrassment or modesty. Grab your gifts, and
use them. Use them in the service of Christ. Use them for the glory of Christ.
One thing to remember is that, like the castaway in the commercial, we already have gifts from
God. We already have them in hand and in heart. Let me read you the opening of 1 Corinthians. Paul
says to the Corinthian Christians, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of
God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in
speech and knowledge of every kind—just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among
you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus
Christ,” (1 Corinthians 1:4-7 NRSV).
What an astounding thing Paul says to these very ordinary and very flawed Christians. Paul says,
“God has graced you! God has enriched you in every way, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual
gift!” That’s a breath-taking piece of theology. We are not lacking in any spiritual gift.
Clearly that does not mean that I have every conceivable gift of the Spirit or that you do. I can’t
imagine any single person being gifted in every aspect of discipleship. Paul doesn’t say that you and I
have it all; he says there’s nothing missing. We have every gift we need to answer the calling of Christ
and to render the service Christ asks of us. As disciples of Jesus, we are not lacking in any gift we
need to serve and follow our Lord.
And Paul offers this encouragement to both individual Christians and also to congregations. As
individual believers, each of us has every gift we need to answer our calling. And when we pool those
gifts within a community of faith, our congregation has every gift we need to do our ministry and our
mission in this time and place. That means that if CSPC seems to lack a gift needed for some ministry,
there are only two possibilities. Either God hasn’t really called us to the ministry, or if God has called
us, then somebody is holding back. Someone in this body has the necessary gift and they don’t know
it, or they don’t know the need, or they are simply refusing to share that gift.
There’s an irony here. The spiritual gifts are precisely that—they are gifts. We cannot compel or
force these gifts. We don’t get to choose our own gifts. In Paul’s words, God allots gifts “to each one
individually just as the Spirit chooses,” (1 Corinthians 12:11). And yet at the same time, Paul
encourages us to seek these gifts of the Spirit, to pursue these gifts, to strive for these gifts. Those are
Paul’s words, not mine.
If the Corinthians were guilty of over-emphasizing the spiritual gifts, we have made the opposite
mistake. We have under-emphasized the gifts of the Spirit. We have relegated the whole subject to
the Charismatics and the Pentecostals, as if this doesn’t apply to Presbyterians. When Paul says,
“Strive for your gifts,” he doesn’t mean we have to beg God to grant us some spiritual ability. God
has already gifted us.
I’m anxious to explore how it is that we can strive for gifts that are already ours, but that’s going
to have to wait one week. Next Sunday, we’ll discuss what it means to pursue and strive after God’s
gifts, but for now let’s hold on to this idea. We have gifts from the Holy Spirit, and those gifts are
meant to be used. Our spiritual gifts are not museum displays, preserved behind glass. Our spiritual
gifts are not batteries that will run down prematurely if we over-use them. Our spiritual gifts are not a
last resort to be withheld for an emergency. Spiritual gifts are meant to be used, and if we do not use
them, we may well lose them.
The great violinist, Nicolo Paganini, willed his marvelous violin to Genoa—
the city of his birth—but only on condition that the instrument never be played after his death. It was
an unfortunate condition. A fine violin made from good wood needs to be handled, touched and
played. Paganini’s wishes have been honored, of course, and the violin that was exquisite while in use
has become a warped and cracked relic resting in velvet. and violin has become worm-eaten in its
beautiful case, valueless except as a relic. After such a long time unplayed, that violin is no longer
worth playing.
Christians, neglected gifts are wasted gifts.
Grab your gifts.
And then do something with them.
Soli Deo Gloria!