Spiritual Gifts

When I read about Spiritual gifts in I Corinthians 12, I think that God’s given me the gift of understanding. I believe this because I can read about or hear Biblical statements and concepts, and understand them. Perhaps not fully, but I know I understand its messages because the themes are repetitive and they continuously confirm what I “heard” initially. Sometimes God says it “in your face” and other times the message is much more subtle. Take “God’s Grace” for example. Sometimes God looks straight into our eyeballs and says, “By grace are you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:8). Other times we have to stretch and strain to hear God whisper the same idea, “In Him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:28)

I also think that I have the gift of tongues or language because I hear statements like the ones above and I “hear” how they are connected. The statements or concepts speak to me in a language of their own. I know that this is true because when I try to communicate these ideas to others, it is unintelligible to them.

If Paul didn’t spend half of chapter 14 of I Corinthians on prophecy and interpretation, I wouldn’t bother seeking these “gifts.” I would have been satisfied in what God’s given me and would be happy indulging myself in them for the rest of my life. “Translating” what I understand is very frustrating and way too much work. My attitude is, if people don’t “get it,” well, they just don’t get it—there’s nothing that I can do about it! But Paul’s plea, “Try to excel in gifts that build up the church” (I Corinthians 14:12) following the lecture on love (I Corinthians 13) really bites.

There should be some consolation in knowing that Paul is not singling me out. Paul’s preaching this to the Church at Corinth and God’s speaking this to ALL His people everywhere. I just don’t understand why I’m taking this so personal…Who am I kidding? I understand.