Open Your Gifts!

I love to get gifts for people. When I get a gift for my wife, I’ll have it wrapped, because I have no wrapping skills whatsoever. Sometimes I’ll give her a gift when we’re out for a meal. I’ll present it to her and then wait for her reaction.

She’ll take the gift and carefully set it aside. Then she’ll say, “I’ll open it after dessert.”

“No, not after dessert,” I’ll say. “I want you to open your gift now. I’m so excited—I think you’re really going to like it!”

In the same way, when God gives us spiritual gifts, He wants us to open them. Writing to the believers in Rome, the apostle Paul said, “For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord” (Romans 1:11 NLT).

Later, in Romans 12, Paul talked about these gifts. He said, “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well” (verse 6 NLT). Are we going to leave those gifts sitting there until we’re finished with dessert? No. Let’s open the gifts God has given to us.

Paul also wrote, “Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7 NLT).

When you become a Christian and ask Christ to come into your life, when you ask Him to fill and empower you with the Holy Spirit, He will instill gifts from the Spirit in you. Therefore, you need to find out what those gifts are and start using them.

These gifts of the Spirit that God wants to give us as Christians are not toys to play with. Rather, they are tools to build with. And they are weapons to fight with.