Watching Other Lumps

Have you ever thought what it would be like if all of us looked alike, dressed alike, and all had the same job? It sounds strange and inefficient to me. I am so glad that God put a variety of color, texture, taste, sound, and people in this world when He created it.

Take a look at what the Bible has to say about the people of God -- the Church:  "Christ has given each of us special abilities—whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts. . . Some of us have been given special ability as apostles; to others he has given the gift of being able to preach well; some have special ability in winning people to Christ, helping them to trust him as their Savior; still others have a gift for caring for God’s people as a shepherd does his sheep, leading and teaching them in the ways of God. Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It is that God’s people will be equipped to do better work for him, building up the Church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity;  until finally we all believe alike about our salvation and about our Savior, God’s Son, and all become full-grown in the Lord—yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ."
(From Ephesians 4 in The Living Bible). Other portions of the New Testament talk about the diversity of gifts of the Spirit, all given according to God's will to be used to honor and glorify Christ and to bless others. 

Personally, I love the concept of being clay in the hands of our Heavenly Potter. He makes us, molds us, shapes us, and gives us the gifts and talents necessary for us to be the people that He created us to be. It is my frequent prayer to the Lord, to ask Him to help me be the person that He created me to be. I really believe that if we embrace His call and live in harmony with His plan for us, we will be joyous people and fulfilled in this life.  On the other hand, if we craft our own path and try and live independently of our Master and one another, don't you think we will do a lot of stumbling and have a lot of scars to nurse? 

What an honor and blessing to be used of God to encourage another person, to share the Gospel with a lost one, to give food to the hungry, to pray for those who mourn. We love it, don't we? I do. 
Yet, another blessing that fills our hearts is to see how God is working in the lives of other people. It is a joy to watch the "other lumps" as the Lord makes them more and more like Himself. To see others grow, to watch deeds of generosity, to witness kindness and love in the Church is a wonderful thing. Spending time with other Christians and hearing their testimonies about their walk with God is a very encouraging thing. It increases their faith and ours. It helps all of us to grow. 

Just a thought: A few years ago there was a big emphasis on the need to identify our spiritual gifts and put them to work. There were assessment tests that people could take on paper or online to help determine your spiritual gift. That is all well and good, I guess. But somehow I think God is more practical than that. As we walk with Him, He gives opportunities to us where we can serve Him or others -- those are the open doors. Go through them! And I believe He gives us a real LOVE for what He is asking us to do. And He is using all of that in the process we call sanctification -- growing us, making us more holy, making us more and more like Jesus.

So let's keep our eyes open and WATCH God at work in our lives -- and let us not forget to watch the other lumps, too.