Living His WordSample

One of the problems common to the Christian life is finding our proper place in the body of Christ. All too often people take on positions within the body that don’t match up well with the gifts they have been given by God. For example, people who are only gifted to teach think they can also be administrators, or people only gifted to be administrators think they can also be prophets, or people only gifted to be prophets think they can also teach, etc. A second problem common to the Christian life is finding the proper level of our place in the body of Christ. All too often people who have been gifted to operate at a lower level think they can handle more, or people who have been gifted to operate at a higher level think they don’t have to do as much as they should. The key to the solution of both problems is the same: do everything in accordance with the faith God has given you. The key, that is, is to do what God wants, not what you want. As the Apostle Paul points out, sober judgment is required here. The great temptation is to think so highly of ourselves that we ignore what God wants from us and what He has gifted us for, both as to the kind and as to the level. The great temptation is to use our judgment in the power of the flesh rather than in the power of the Spirit. True Christian faith is always properly oriented to God’s revelation of Himself and His Will. We can save ourselves a lot of grief and heartache by taking the time to discern what God’s Will is in these matters by taking the time to use sober judgment guided by faith born of the Spirit.