Rom 12:3-13

Gifts and Talents

8.June 2008

I hope you’ve had a chance to look at the array of talents on display during our Art and Craft show. If not, please do have a look after the service. It’s amazing what people are capable of and, I suspect, many more of us could have provided something to go on display. And although many of the works on display are excellent – this isn’t necessarily the only thing these people can do. All of these people have other gifts and abilities which they use in life, both for their own benefit or the benefit of others.

However, some of us, if we’re honest, would have to admit that we would be completely incapable of producing anything that could be displayed on boards like this for the benefit of others. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re not creative. Some people can make amazing music, some are good at sport, or writing or gardening. We would need a different forum to show off those abilities. But I suspect there are many who may say, ‘well, I have none of these obvious gifts – talents that cause one to be noticed and recognised above others’. That may be true for many of us, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have any talents or gifts – far from it. We all have gifts - abilities and attributes that mark us out as unique.

Let me re-read part of the Romans passage we just heard:

For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵ so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶ We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸ the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. ^…; ¹⁰ love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ^… Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

These gifts mentioned here are not an exhaustive list. Paul could have gone on for pages listing the different talents and abilities that operate within humanity. Some seemingly important – some very public – others, gifts that operate behind-the-scenes but which are no less important:

I always think of our church services as a good example of the body functioning well together: there are those of us who are more ‘up-front’ – (those of us dressed in the strange clothes), and there are those, such as stewards and sides persons (in more normal attire), without whom this service would not work. There are those who, for many of us, are even further behind the scenes – the Sunday school teachers, those who make the coffee – and behind that are many many others who sustain this building and the work that goes on in it – often throughout the week. If the toilets were not cleaned and the admin not done and the bills not paid and the money not received and the flowers not arranged and the visiting not taking place, and no one sitting in the pews, then there would be no service here today. But thank God for everyone involved in the formal and public life and worship of the church.

Of course, when Paul spoke about gifts, he had no concept of Christians meeting together in formal rows looking at the back of someone’s head for just an hour or so a week. Belonging to the church then involved so much more – and, of course, it still does.

What, then, is the purpose of such gifts and talents? (and I don’t mean just those that we use to maintain our services). According to Paul, they are to build up the body of Christ – the church. Of course, to do that there needs to be meaningful connection within and between the parts of the body – that’s why it is good to meet together regularly – that’s why it is essential to have good relationships within the body.

I asked the confirmation group the other day, if anyone had ever seen an elbow on its own – they hadn’t. But imagine seeing an elbow lying in the street. First of all, you probably wouldn’t recognise it as such, secondly it has no obvious purpose – no function separated from the body. BUT…put that same elbow into the right place between the arm and the hand and you have a part of the body that is enormously helpful – it moves the hand which itself is used in a myriad ways to benefit the rest of the body. It is also in a position to receive from the rest of the body and also to give to the lower arm and hand. In doing so, it too is built up. Put it anywhere else in the body and it would cease to be as effective – in fact it would become a liability (and I’ll let you imagine the best or worse places for a nomadic elbow!!)

You may or may not think of yourself as an elbow – but I trust the analogy is obvious? First, regardless of how others see us, we have value and importance. Of course, God loves us for who we are not for what we do, And we too should show the same unconditional love to others – but every follower of Christ has a place within the body of Christ.

I love the verse from Ephesians that says the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. Everyone is needed – there are no spare parts. That means you are not excluded and it also means you cannot exclude others.

So what is your God-given gift – or gifts? There are two things that can help us discover them: first, Ask yourself – what gives you the biggest buzz – what is it that in doing you feel most you, most alive? Second, ask those closest to you – who can often see things we can’t. Often, many of us are already naturally fulfilling our function within the body.

And when we know what we can do, let’s use our gifts extravagantly and creatively. That’s why I believe whatever gifts we have we can all be creative – whether we can provide something for the art and craft show or not.

My final point is this. The body of Christ is not to be built up so it can simply look in the mirror and flex its muscles or look at its beautiful curves. No, it has a purpose and that is to bring the love and the grace of God to a world that is desperately in need of love and grace. We are the body of Christ and we are called to be Christ and live as Christ in this world.

So, in conclusion:

First, we need to know that we all have a place within this amazing group of people called the church, second, we need to know that we each have unique gifts and talents, third, we need to consider how to use those gifts in a creative and effective way – so that we can build others up; so that we can bring God’s love to the world and so that we, ultimately, bring glory to God.

Simple!