If you had to capture the essence of your upcoming trip in one sentence, what would it be? Could you capture the “why,” “what” and “how”?
I’ll take a stab at it. Actually, I’ll just steal from Peter (to pay Paul!). He wrote this: “Each of you should use whatever gifts he has been given to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10). Wow! That is powerful. There is so much packed in there. Let’s break it down.
EACH OF YOU
Raise your hand if that includes you. Yeah. That’s me. That’s you. Each of us. All of us. Every one of us. Male and female. Old and young. Lifetime Christ-followers. Brand new seekers. People who are falling apart. People who try to act like they have it all together. Folks who think they have a lot to offer. Folks who aren’t sure what they have to offer. Each and every single last one of all of us is invited! This is the Pictionary all-play. The skate night all-skate. The prom’s last dance. You are invited to be part of what God is doing. “Each of you.”
USE WHATEVER
I love that. And not because I grew up in the 80’s when “whatever” became the thing to say! Long before then, Peter urges all of us to “use whatever.” Whatever you have. Whatever God has given. Whatever is in your hand or your heart or your head or your wallet. We are all invited and we all have something to offer. Moses had a staff. The widow in Zaraphath had a jar of oil. David had a sling. Gideon had a trumpet. The inn keeper had a stable. That boy had s lunch. That elderly woman had two coins. Peter had a net. None of them had the same thing as anyone else. But they all had something. They all had “whatever,” and they used it. You are no different. You may not think you have much, but you have something. You have some money. You have some skill. You have some experience. You have some insight. You have some compassion. You have some love. Each of you has been given something. Whatever it is, use it.
“Each of you, use whatever . . .”
TO SERVE OTHERS
Ah, that word “others” makes this more challenging. That does not come naturally. Serving myself comes naturally. That’s a lot easier. Making myself comfortable. Doing what I want to do. Doing things the way I like to do them. Using my resources to take care of myself. It is just so much easier to make my world revolve around me.
The word “others” forces me to spin around 180 degress. It’s a complete turn-around. An absolute reframing of how I tend to live. Use what I have been given, not solely for myself, but for others. Resources that God gives me are to be poured out into others. Experiences that I have had should be leveraged to help others. Wisdom that I may have gained must be shared to help others. Money that God has loaned to me should be generously given to others. Skills that I have been given should be maximized to bless others. This trip provides you with a perfect opportunity to practice “others first” living.
I don’t know about you, but I have found this to be challenging! It’s not easy, but guess what? It is worth it. Wait until you see what happens when we live this way. It’s pretty remarkable.
“Each of you, use whatever, to serve others . . .”
Here comes the pay off. We are about to learn why we should live *his way.
FAITHFULLY ADMINISTERING GOD’S GRACE IN IT’S VARIOUS FORMS
Did you catch that? Do you understand what that means? When each of us use whatever to serve others . . . then God takes over! His grace flows through us to those we are serving. No longer do the others see us, hear us, feel us. Instead, they see God at work, hear His voice, feel His presence! His supernatural power overshadows us and blesses others.
I told you this would be worth it. I told you it was pretty remarkable. When we use whatever we have to serve others, we get to channel God’s grace and hand it out to others. There’s simply nothing better than that.
So here it is one last time; your mission in a sentence:
Each of you use whatever gifts he has been given to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10)
Which part resonates most with you?
Which element needs some attention?
Dr. Paul McGuinness 