GIFT!

Today, folks, is Ascension Sunday. Actually, the Ascension is forty days after Easter and always falls on a Thursday (last Thursday), but is usually celebrated the Sunday thereafter (today). And, while we are on the topic of the Church Calendar, I might as well make mention that next Sunday is Pentecost, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Christ, thus marking the birth of the Church.

And that’s what started me thinking of gifts. Not just Pentecost and Holy Spirit, but Ascension as well, for Ephesians 4:7–11 links that event also with gifting—the spiritual kind.

When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives
And He gave gifts to men.
Ephesians 4:8

Mentioned several times in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 12ff.; Romans 12; Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 4—two 12’s and two 4’s), the gifts of the Holy Spirit are described as being granted to all believers, a consequence of their indwelling by the third Person of the Trinity from the moment they place their trust in Jesus Christ as their only God and Savior from sin.

… to each one is given
the manifestation of
the Spirit
for the common good.
1 Corinthians 12:7

How does one recognize one’s spiritual gifts? In another context, I was just discussing this the other day with the Gibsons (a fellow-student and his wife). How does one figure out what one’s gifts might be?

This is, admittedly, not an easy question to answer. Beyond encouraging those seeking to discover their gifts to study, prayerfully, the Biblical passages that deal with this subject, allow me to share what has helped me in my own search. Not just for inquiring about gifts, but even for assisting me in making decisions in life, these three areas of investigation have been exceptionally profitable: Head, Heart, and Hands.

Head: Who am I? What is my personality like? My talents? Qualifications? Experience? What am I capable of? Where am I in my spiritual pilgrimage now? And my station in life? How has God sovereignly led me thus far?
Heart: What am I passionate about? What gives me great joy to engage in (or great grief, for that matter!)?
Hands: What am I good at? What exploratory activities in the direction of the gifts have borne the most fruit? What, according to my fellow-Christians, has been effective in my “experimental” ventures with gifts?

Of course, none of these criteria are absolute determinants of what our gift(s) might be; I offer them in the hope that they might lend as much help to you as they have to me in making a reasonable assessment of the trajectory of my gifting.

On that last point (Hands) let me add one thing—the use of these spiritual gifts: 1 Corinthians 12:7 explicitly demarcated their employment for “the common good”, for the edification of the church, for the building up on one another.

As each one
has received a gift,
employ it
in serving one another,
as good stewards
of the manifold grace
of God.
1 Peter 4:10

Spiritual gifts are expressly for the benefit of the church. Employ them. Enjoy them. Edify others, your brothers and sisters in Christ.

By the way, I’m exercising (what I think might be) my gift this morning in my church—I’m preaching. So if you read this before noon today GMT, please whisper a prayer for me. If you don’t peruse this by then, do pray nonetheless—it will stand me in good stead when I’m in the pulpit again next Sunday, at another church. Thanks!

SIGHT!

The other day my brother told me he had started wearing eyeglasses for the affliction of aging eyes, presbyopia. That word literally combines the Greek words for “old man” and “sight.” Isn’t it amazing how some people age so quickly?

Did I have any trouble focusing on things? he asked me. “Who, me? Of course, not,” I asserted, brimming with youthful exuberance and adolescent confidence.

He looked at me skeptically. “Here,” he said, handing me his pair of old man’s spectacles. “Try these,” he advised.

I did. To shorten a sorrowful saga and to spare the reader an account of the agonies that followed, allow me to jump to the conclusion of that infelicitous incident: I am getting old!!! The cruel caprices of the clock of life have caught up with me. In other words, I have finally qualified to become a presbyteros, an elder! To borrow the utterance of another whose windows to the soul were opened, “I was blind, but now I see.” That guy at least knew he was blind. I didn’t.

Blindness. An allegory for our depravity. Drenched in sin. Every part of us, including our eyes. And sin does a number on us, blinding us to our own faults, foibles, failures, augmenting our inability to perceive.

My iniquities
have overtaken me,
so that
I am not able to see ….
Psalm 40:12

Only God can lift the veil. Only His Spirit can enlighten us. Only His Word can dispel the darkness. And it is only in the radiance and effulgence of His glorious truth that our hearts are illumined.

In Your light
we see light.
Psalm 36:9

For those who have seen the light, Jesus pronounces a special blessing:

But blessed are your eyes,
because they see ….
Matthew 13:16

The first operation of opening the ophthalmic apparatus is, of course, the placing of one’s trust in Jesus Christ as one’s Savior, believing in His accomplished work on the cross for our salvation. And yet, though we who have placed our trust in Christ now have our eyes opened, the deleterious effects of sin continue to skew our sight. Not until the age to come, when our unwarped bodies are unwrapped will our perception be perfect.

For now we see
in a mirror dimly,
but then face to face;
now I know in part,
but then I will know fully ….
1 Corinthians 13:12

And then, when we are freed forever from the presence of sin, when our hearts are as pure as they were intended to be by their Maker, then we shall see indeed!

Blessed are
the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8

Until that time, the important sense is really not our sight, but God’s. The imperative for us is to live our lives in a manner pleasing to His sight, accomplishing what is good in the eyes of the Lord.

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation
of my heart
Be acceptable
in Your sight,
O LORD,
my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14

May His grace and strength be with us all, enabling us to do exactly that.

Now the God of peace …
equip you in every good thing
to do His will,
working in us
that which is pleasing
in His sight,
through Jesus Christ,
to whom be the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20–21

Oh … and get your eyes checked, will you?

FAMILY!

It’s always a joy to be with loved ones. This time was no different. As you can probably tell, I’m having a good time with my father and brother and his family in SC. Outside of the obligatory gastronomic celebrations in festive Indian fashion (Thanks, Susan!), we just hung around, took in some sights on S. Carolina’s Atlantic coast, ate out, saw a movie, and generally vegetated (conserving innumerable precious heartbeats in the process, of course).

Article 16 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the U.N.) says: The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

This kindred unit called family is a strange thing, isn’t it? The Bible recognizes the family as special. While proceeding to give his benediction in the middle of the letter to the Ephesians, Paul throws in a cryptic little “aside”…

… the Father [patera],
from whom every family [patria]
in heaven and on earth
derives its name ….
Ephesians 3:14

Clearly those key words are similar. But one would suppose that Paul’s interest in the matter was more than etymological. The family, he seems to suggest, has its basis in the Fatherhood of God, and thus in the very concept of the Trinity. The family is special? You bet! And then Jesus radically expanded the boundaries of this earthly kindred, making it even more special in character, when He declared, looking around at His followers …

“For whoever
does the will of God,
he is My brother
and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:35

For those who have taken the first step in doing the will of God by placing their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior, that momentous step of faith has brought them into a new family relationship. This one is not anthropological, biological, or sociological. This one is spiritual!

For by one Spirit
we were all baptized
into one body ….
1 Corinthians 12:13

The Holy Spirit that indwells every believer is the DNA, so to speak, that links us all in unity. And just as (ideally) we are to go through the experience of life with our biological families, the Bible assumes as a norm that we live our spiritual lives only in communion with our spiritual families, the body of Christ. For instance, that same benediction of Paul in Ephesians 3 exhorts us ….

… to comprehend
with all the saints
what is the breadth and length
and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ
which surpasses knowledge ….
Ephesians 3:18–19

With all the saints. It might not be too far off to say that a believer cannot experience the love of Christ in its plenitude outside of the family of God, without all the saints. Such an understanding commits us as members of that family to depict to one another the love of Christ in the magnitude of its breadth and length and height and depth! What an overwhelming responsibility we have towards our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Experiencing Christ’s love. Showing Christ’s love. The function of family!

This is His commandment,
that we believe in the name
of His Son Jesus Christ,
and love one another,
just as He commanded us.
1 John 3:23

Bear one another's burdens,
and thereby fulfill
the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2

So then, while we have opportunity,
let us do good to all people,
and especially to those
who are of the household
of the faith.
Galatians 6:10

GRADUATION!

It would’ve been nice if the graduation had been mine. But it wasn’t. (I’ll be sure to let y’all know when I’m done with my current educational enterprise.)

One of the daughters of the Morgans (my good friends) was the one who was graduating this weekend in Dallas, going on to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy. And I happened to be the speaker at the ceremony.

A joyous occasion. A moving one. It was a delight to share in the general exhilaration of the moment. Proud parents. Relieved graduates. Elated family. Well-wishing friends. Graduation. Success. Approbation. Reward.

As I enjoyed myself at the celebrations, rejoicing in the triumphs of those students, and partaking in the festivities, I wondered about that most important Graduation Ceremony of life, the last one, the final one, the ONLY one of eternal moment and significance. The day when believers will stand before Jesus Christ, their Savior, for the final accounting of their lives. For those who have placed their trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, this is an occasion when the Lord will assess their deeds, not for condemnation, but for the disposition of rewards to believers—our Graduation and the handing out of Honors.

After I gave the commencement address yesterday, I wondered: Will I hear from the Speaker on that Graduation Day to come …

“Well done,
good and faithful slave.
You were faithful with a few things,
I will put you in charge of many things;
enter into the joy of your master.”
Matthew 25:21

Faithfulness in a few things, little things, in what we’ve been allotted in this life, qualifies us for Graduation with Honors. With rewards. What exactly they might be is not very clear. The New Testament also refers to such rewards as “crowns,” which, in 1 Peter 5, for instance, appears to be the prize for an exemplary lifestyle of humility, especially for those who’ve been leaders …

And when the Chief Shepherd appears,
you will receive
the unfading crown of glory.
1 Peter 5:4

The Bible unabashedly touts rewards as incentives to faithfulness in our service to God; of course, rewards are not the only incentives to a godly life, but they certainly are valid ones; Scripture does not shy away from using them to motivate believers to maintain a consistent walk with God.

Run in such a way
that you may win.
Everyone who competes
in the games
exercises self-control in all things.
They then do it
to receive a perishable wreath,
but we an imperishable.
1 Cor 9:24–25

Living faithfully for God, in Christ, by the Spirit. A life in step with His Word, in line with His precepts, in accord with His demands. One way of conducting such a faithful life (training for spiritual athletics?) is, as Paul tells us above, by exercising self-control in all things. Immersed in a culture as we are, bombarded on every side by the slick messages that pander to instant self-gratification, this call for self-control is, to put it mildly, strange!

But not so in God’s view. Self-control now; satisfaction later. Restraint now; rewards later. Discipline now; deserts later. It is a fight to the end, a race to the finish, a fulfillment of obligations, a stewardship of life, for the glory of God!

I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the course,
I have kept the faith;
in the future
there is laid up for me
the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord,
the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day.
2 Timothy 4:7–8

Let’s get ready for graduation. Summa cum laude!