So, you want to use your gifts?
2 Corinthians 4: 6-8
This is the verse that hit me in the head like a 2X4 this afternoon as I reflected on the craziness of yesterday. This is a little long, but bear with me, and I promise, the end is good. :) Many of you are aware that Keith and I are on the path of purchasing a house that we believe God wants to use for ministry here in Boston. Recently Keith shared with me that he felt God leading us to more specifically solidify the purpose of this house. Immediately I wanted to run. I trusted that God would show us how to use the house when we found it, expecting the layout and location of the house would determine at least some of what our ministry would look like there. But I felt like I was stumbling in the dark as far as "formulating" a ministry purpose with no specific house in mind.
During the last two Sundays our pastor Bruce Wall has passionately spoken of the importance of knowing and understanding our spiritual gifts in order to fully step into the ministry that God has prepared for us. Now, spiritual gifts is not a new topic for us - we do gift inventories with our staff every summer to help them understand how God has equipped them, but we had never considered that our ministry purpose would be based directly upon the spiritual gifts that God has given us. It seems so simple now! So...full of excitement and ready to start forming a plan, both Keith and I re-took our spiritual gifts inventory tests (it has been several years since we have taken the test and both of us have grown up a bit, we hope :) ).
Also, yesterday we looked at another house here in our neighborhood, which we are very excited about. We were planning on discussing whether or not to make an offer after we finished the tests.
I had just completed my inventory and was printing out the gift descriptions at 10:40p.m. when our doorbell began to ring repeatedly. We weren't too worried, since we have residents upstairs who often stop by at odd hours, but I was surprised when Keith came back in with a youth that I had never met before who was very upset. We soon found out that he is one of four foster teens that live with a Christian couple across the street from us. He had run to our house in a panic after one of the other teens had stolen his new phone and threatened to kill him.
So here is the kick of my story...if you are REALLY ready to discover your gifts and use them for God, he is going to give you some practice, and often, it may not be comfortable.
As we spent over two and a half hours with this teen loving him, and trying to help him find reconciliation in this situation, the gifts that we had just been reading about took flesh. Hospitality, mercy, faith, helps, and wisdom...God used them all, and like any athlete in training, our work out left our spiritual muscles sore.
In the end, after repeated creative tries to reach the foster parents who where asleep on the third floor of their house, the police had to be called to rectify the situation. This was not our first choice, but ended up being the only option. In the process, Keith and I were in the presence of the other teen that was screaming threats, which made us uneasy. The reality is that our family has to live across the street from this boy. For me, my gift of faith kicked in. I know that the protection of my family from the world comes only from the Creator who loves the world so much that He sent His son Jesus to die for it, and He loves both of these boys just as much as me. I also believe that the safest place for my family is in the middle of God's will and purpose, even if by many people's standards, it is not "safe."
We went to bed both glad to be available to be used by God but also uncertain if any clear or happy resolution. If anything, it's more complicated and messy than before. We don't know what the future holds for either of the teenagers involved, and also are not sure how the situation will affect our friendship with our neighbors, the foster parents.
We are humbled, and count it a privilege that the awesome God of this universe would ever choose to use these "earthen vessels" for his great kingdom purposes. But it is in the moments that are scary and sometimes uncomfortable that he reminds us that the power of our gifts and our ministry is from HIM and not from us.
Keith and I ask that you continue to pray for us as we wrestle through our gifts, and seek wisdom from God about the ministry purpose of the home we believe He will give us. And also pray for us as we do prepare an offer on the house we saw last night. We are committed to following God wherever he leads. Just like the children of Israel, we will follow the cloud and the fire even if it does not take us the shortest, easiest, most scenic or comfortable route to His promise.
