Know Your Gift

"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (1 Corinthians 12:27)

The task of the church is too great for any one person to compass and too varied for the skill of any one person to accomplish.

God has met this difficulty by dividing the task and giving to every may gifts that enable him to do his part. By distributing the work, He lightens the burden for all and makes possible the smooth carrying out of His purposes among men. That is undoubtedly the reason behind the gifts of the Spirit given to the various members of the Christian community. Here, as elsewhere, the manifold wisdom of God is revealed.

Blessed is the man who knows his gift and who seeks to exercise it toward the other members of the body of Christ "as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (1 Peter 4:10).

The Holy Spirit desires to take us and control us and use us as instruments and organs through whom He can express Himself in the body of Christ. The Spirit of God, His presence and His gifts are not simply desirable in our Christian congregations; they are absolutely imperative.

~A. W. Tozer~

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Flowers and Fruit Do Not Grow In Thin Air!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23).

I would like to be able to ask every Christian in the world this question: Are you really interested in God's producing in you the beautiful fruits and fragrances of the Holy Spirit?

For every affirmative answer, I would quickly recommend: Then look to your own willingness to be regular in the habits of a holy life - for flowers and fruits do not grow in thin air! They grow and come up out of a root and "the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit" (Proverbs 12:12).

For every beautiful garden that you see, whose fragrance comes out to welcome you, has its roots down into the hard earth. The beautiful flowers and blooms will grow and appear and flourish only when there are deep roots and strong stalks. If you take the roots away, the blossom and flower will endure perhaps one day. The sun will scorch them and they will be gone.

What is the special likeness of Christ that he would reproduce in me? What are the features of His life that He calls me to imitate? What pattern would He set before me in my work, my circumstances, my difficulties? What are the inspirations of grace that He would urge me to cultivate and cherish?

~A. W. Tozer~