Built for a Purpose

During the 2008 Summer Olympics, Michael Phelps became widely known for his ability to swim faster than any other swimmer in the competition. As the competition went on, the announcers began studying him and found that the length and size of his limbs and body lends itself to swimming quickly. The basic idea is that his body is like a machine built for swimming.

How amazing would it be to have your body formed and proportioned to be effective at one specific task, and then to find that task and become practiced and trained in it? The example we find in Mr. Phelps is applicable to each one of us, spiritually. Each one of us has been designed, spiritually, to be effective at a specific task that God has set before us.

Think about that fact for a moment. You, if you are a Christian right now, have been given a spiritual gift from God. Your spiritual self is formed in such a way that you are going to be effective at something in the Lord’s church. That is truly an exciting prospect, is it not?

In addition to the knowledge and excitement we feel over having this gift from God, we also have a responsibility. God has placed a spiritual gift into your care. You are a steward of that spiritual gift, and you are expected to use it in service to the Lord. Your gift may be any number of different things. You may be gifted in evangelism, in teaching, in serving others, in leading, in encouraging others, in being merciful, or your gift may be in some other area of life.

As you are considering your spiritual gift or are attempting to discover your spiritual gift, you do need to keep in mind that the scriptures do teach that some spiritual gifts, like prophecy, speaking in tongues, and miraculous knowledge, have been done away with. So your spiritual gift won’t be one of those (1 Corinthians 13). As a Christian, you are responsible to find and develop the spiritual gift you have been given by God. Let’s all adventure together and find our spiritual gifts and make use of them together to the building up of the body of Christ.

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

-1 Corinthians 12:4–7