God’s creativity is shared with us

Sunday 17 October 2010 by Mavis Wilson

Romans 12.3-12

God loves diversity and rejoices in variety. How do we know that? Well just look at creation. It contains myriad upon myriad of different forms, shapes, colours, species. Consider the stars and the planets; how many are there? Then there are plants and animals, how many different kinds of those, subdivided many times into sets and sub sets. What about people? Are any two the same? No each has a unique DNA – as many a criminal has found to their cost! God loves diversity and rejoices in variety. God created and continues to create with joyful abandon; even chaos is necessary in God’s scheme of creating the astonishing world inhabited by remarkable people – that’s us.

God showers gifts upon us - gifts given to all of us - so that we can share in the life giving creativity of God. What are these gifts? They are gifts of temperament, preference; of skills, talents and spiritual gifts.

So what kind of a person are you? Outgoing and extrovert, enjoying receiving from other people or introvert and reflective drawing on strengths from within yourself?

Maybe you value thinking rationally about problems, solving them step by step ; problems which other people approach, and even solve on the basis not so much of how they think but how they feel.

Perhaps you appreciate things through your senses or your appreciation may come in a more intuitive way.

Possibly you are the sort of person who loves to complete a job, wrap it up and label it ‘Done’ - but you may not be like that, because some people can live with all kinds of unfinished business and loose ends – a few preachers have even been known to finish their sermons as they are preaching them!

What kind of person are you? There is no right or wrong answer. We are simply different We each have a great variety of characteristics which make us unique.

How much do we appreciate all these differences? Sometimes as in marriage two opposites make a complementary whole – better together. At other times our differences rub up against one another and we revert to childish rivalries and antagonism and we fall a long way short of Christian love for each other.

Then there are talents as well as preferences or temperamental differences. What are you good at? - painting, music, maths, knitting, project planning, gardening, atomic physics, loving people, sailing, cheering up a desolate group of people, organising or caring in a long term situation of need. What gives you enjoyment? When do you have the greatest sense of satisfaction? If the world were your oyster what would you most like to achieve?. I can guarantee that your answer would be utterly different from the answer of your neighbour sitting alongside you this morning - and there is no right and wrong. We are each unique. God loves diversity and rejoices in variety.

What are your spiritual gifts? Don’t say ‘I am not a spiritual person’ We are all spiritual people. Paul reminds us in this morning’s epistle that there are varieties of Gifts. and anyone who is genuinely open to God’s Spirit will receive spiritual gifts. This is just one of a number of lists in the New Testament. – prophecy, ministry, teaching, giving, leadership, compassion. But you can’t escape by dismissing all of these since Paul adds to the list in 1 Corinthians 12 - wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discernment of spirits, tongues. This is not a sermon about the nature of each of these gifts . We have explored many of them before. The fact is that God lavishes these gifts on us if only we are willing to receive them and different gifts are given to different people because God rejoices in variety . but much more importantly, because we are created to need one another. – that may be hard for some of us to hear – we like to be independent. But we cannot do the work of God of bringing life to others and working for the justice and peace which God’s kingdom brings without each other and so the gifts which we have are not given for our own benefit and satisfaction but for the good of all.

Perhaps we have witnessed one of the most striking examples of people using their talents and skills for the benefit of others in the amazing rescue operation in Chile these past few days. The technological skills of geologists and mining engineers, of rescue teams and medical personnel, of project managers and co-ordinators of volunteer supporters each offered their gifts for the benefit of thirty three men trapped below ground in the heat, humidity and darkness of that mine. They were literally resurrected before the eyes of an amazed world because of the variety of people and skills which came together. Underground there was evidence of the spiritual gifts needed for the spiritual life to be maintained. Do you remember the oldest miner who said, on rescue,’ I never doubted that we would be saved’. He had a gift of faith and therefore brought hope in that dark place. Another was reported to be an evangelist who’ kept up the spirits of the men through their ordeal’. Another had a gift of leadership which enabled the 33 to decide to divide into three groups, more manageable in terms of relationships in the conditions where they were trapped. Someone had a gift of wisdom and realised the importance of helping the others to find ways of exercising and dividing the 24 hours into rest, work and relaxation periods, including one period for prayer, and this helped to save them psychologically and physically Diverse gits were offered for the good of all..

We are in this business of being church together. We are members one of another. If that seems challenging then perhaps it might help to realise that God created us in this way out of love. Being the Body of Christ is to be a blessing not a curse. We can choose to see one another as gifts from God. How would that change your attitude to the person whom you find really difficult? The person who is sitting two rows in front of you whom you don’t like or sitting two rows behind you who you are glad you can’t see?

Being a Christian is not spectator sport. We are called to be involved with one another, Each of us has personal characteristics talents and spiritual gifts give by God in order to create a community where people are valued, loved, affirmed, cared for and also enabled to offer whatever it is that God has gifted them with as unique individuals, loved and precious in God’s sight. When we see each other in that way we are freed from envy about the gifts and talents which we see in other people because we rejoice in using our own God given gifts. We are freed from expecting others to do the things we do because they are our things s to get on with because of our unique gifts – it is a mutual effort. So what part in the life of the church here are each of us, are you, you playing? . If you are not using your gifts then the whole body is weakened. If you are not sharing your resources with the rest of the body of Christ then the work of God cannot move forward in the way in which God is calling us.

I was deeply shocked to hear of one person who criticised someone else for using their gifts and the person being critical did not seem to understand why we all need to share in the everyday tasks of making sure the worship of this church continues to happen. It needs all of us to participate.

Sometimes I think that the worship which I love the most in this church is Weds morning when the residents from Whitebourne join us. We rarely have music which I do miss a lot but as members of our congregation come in with elderly frail people on their arm, the able bodied offering their physical strength to support the others weakness; as I see the gifts of love and care willingly given: as I notice one person pointing out the words on the service sheet to someone who can no longer follow them for themselves; as I see perfectly able bodied people asking to receive communion in the same way as our infirm visitors do in order not to allow them to feel marginalised; as I enjoy cakes often specially baked for our friends, then I see all kinds of gifts shared for the benefit of others and it really does seem that the kingdom of God has come very close. For as in one body we have many members….so we who are many are one body in Christ and individually we are members one of another. That is how we are created and that is how we can share our gifts so as to be the people who reflect the creativity of God. Amen

Questions

1. What are you main characteristics, talents and spiritual gifts?
2. What helps you to understand and love a person in the church whom you do not particularly like?
3. In what specific ways do you offer your gifts in God’s service in the church context? Is there anything you are holding back from God?
4. When or where have you seen the Body of Christ working as it should?