Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10)
Super heroes seem to be the rage today. Spiderman, Superman, and Batman come to mind. What is it about them that tempts us to envy them? Why would we really like to be like them? Because they have unique supernatural powers to help others. Sound familiar?
What else are spiritual gifts than unique supernatural desires and abilities given to us to help others? God’s grace is not just the kind that provides forgiveness, but there is a kind of divine grace that equips and empowers us to serve God and His people in a special way. But this grace does not operate automatically. Instead, we must love God and people enough to “faithfully” use them.
In my experience, these “super powers” only really work in the local church. If you only live for your occupation and family, you will never even begin to discover, experience, develop, and use the spiritual gifts God has given you. They were especially designed for the work of the church.
This kind of supernatural grace comes in “various forms” and so it is important to know how God has gifted us, and it is silly to compare ourselves with others. Some of these “forms” are “serving . . . teaching . . . encouraging . . . contributing to the needs of others . . . leadership . . . showing mercy” (Romans 12:6-8). The best way to know what “super power” God has given you is to think about your favorite way to sacrificially serve people. Only when a person uses, “whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace” will they discover and fulfill the “good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).